Terpsichore is usually depicted sitting down, holding a
lyre, accompanying the dancers' choirs with her music. Her name comes from the
Greek words τέρπω ("delight") and χoρός ("dance").
When The Histories of
Herodotus were divided by later editors into nine books, each book was named after a Muse. Terpsichore was the name of the fifth book.
Terpsichore is also found in
François Couperin's "Second Ordre" from the Pièces de clavecin.
The third version (HWV 8c) of
Handel's opera Il pastor fido (1712) includes a new prologue written in 1734 titled Terpsicore.
The eighteenth century French dancer and courtesan
Marie-Madeleine Guimard named the private theater in her private palace (1766) the Temple of Terpsichore.
Terpischore appears in the 1980 musical film
Xanadu but uses the name Kira until near the end. She was portrayed by
Olivia Newton-John.
Media
In the 1947 film Down To Earth,
Rita Hayworth plays Terpsichore, who is annoyed and visits Earth to change a musical that depicts her in a bad light.[5]
Science
Terpsichore, a genus of ferns in the family Polypodiaceae, subfamily Grammitidoideae named after the Muse[6]
The
terpsitone, an electronic musical instrument invented by
Leon Theremin, was named after Terpsichore.[7]