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
Throwing Muses first, in 1994, which delayed the release of "University" until 1995. "University" gave the band their first national U.S. hit, "Bright Yellow Gun". The album was very favorably reviewed but it did not sell well, which resulted in them being dropped from Sire. Throwing Muses released their seventh album, "Limbo", which was followed by a tour. However, the band disbanded in 1997 as Kristin Hersh went on to continue her solo career. In March 2003 Throwing Muses came back with their eighth album, "Throwing Muses", which also saw the return of Tanya Donelly who provided backing vocals on the album.