The Muses

Thalia, Muse of Comedy

Thalia, meaning "the joyous" or "the flourishing," is the Muse of comedy and idyllic poetry. According to pseudo-Apollodorus, a compendium of Greek myths and heroic legends, she and Apollo were the parents of the Korybantes, armed and crested dancers who worshipped the Phrygian goddess Cybele with drumming and dancing. Other ancient sources give the Korybantes different parents.

Thalia is usually portrayed as a young woman with a joyous air wearing a crown of ivy, boots, and carrying a comic mask in her hand. Many statues also depict her holding a bugle and a trumpet (objects used to amplify actor's voices in ancient comedy) or a shepherd's staff.