Thaleia. The Muse of pastoral life, of comedy, and of idyllic poetry; appears with the comic mask, a shepherd’s staff, and a wreath of ivy, or basket; sometimes dressed in a sheepskin.
The Muses are sometimes represented with feathers on their heads, alluding to their contest with the Sirens, whom they stripped of their wing feathers, which they wore as ornaments. (Hirt. Mythologisches Bilderbuch, p. 203.)
Museum, Gr. and R. (Μουσεῖον). Literally, a temple of the Muses. The term was afterwards applied to an establishment founded by Ptolemy I., called Soter, at Alexandria in Egypt, in which scholars and literary men were maintained at the public expense. In a villa, it was a grotto or retreat to which people retired for meditation.
Fig. 475. Opus musivum.
Fig. 474. Opus musivum.
Musivum (opus), R. (μουσεῖον). This term was used by the Romans to denote a mosaic of small cubes of coloured glass or enamel, in contradistinction to Lithostrotum (q.v.), which was a pavement made of real stones and marbles of different colours; but in a more extended sense, the term Musivum denotes any kind of mosaic. Figs. 474 and 475 show examples of various kinds. Fig. [476] is a mosaic forming a border.
Fig. 476. Opus musivum—bordering.