Sarah Siddons as the Tragic Muse paintings of Melpoméne, she is represented with a tragic mask and also often holds in her other hand a knife or club. In Greek mythology, she is the daughter of Zeus and Mnemosyne, who had eight other daughters, Melpoméne's sisters and the eight other muses are: Calliope, muse of epic poetry; Clio, muse of history; Euterpe, muse of flute playing; Terpsichore, muse of dancing; Erato, muse of erotic poetry; Thalia muse of comedy; Polyhymnia, muse of hymns; and Urania, muse of astronomy. Reynolds was inspired not only by Sarah Siddons' extreme talent to embody the tragic heroine in Macbeth, but
Valley of the Muses rectangular foundation of a small temple of the Muses. He also indicated the remains of the theatre on the mountain slope. The French Archaeological School under Jamot excavated systematically in 1888, 1889 and 1890, and discovered all the antiquities (G. Roux, Le Val des Muses et les Musees chez les auteurs anciens, in Bulletin de Correspondance Hellenique, 1954, 1, pp. 22–48). The Sanctuary consisted of: Valley of the Muses The Valley of the Muses was the site of an ancient Greek sanctuary to the Muses and the "Mouseia" festivals held in their honor. It is an open-air historical site open