<P> The swan song ( ancient Greek : κύκνειον ᾆσμα ; Latin : carmen cygni ) is a metaphorical phrase for a final gesture , effort , or performance given just before death or retirement . The phrase refers to an ancient belief that swans ( Cygnus spp . ) sing a beautiful song just before they are to die , having been silent ( or alternatively , not so musical ) during most of their lifetime . This belief , whose basis in actuality is long - debated , had become proverbial in ancient Greece by the 3rd century BC , and was reiterated many times in later Western poetry and art . </P>
<P> The swan song ( ancient Greek : κύκνειον ᾆσμα ; Latin : carmen cygni ) is a metaphorical phrase for a final gesture , effort , or performance given just before death or retirement . The phrase refers to an ancient belief that swans ( Cygnus spp . ) sing a beautiful song just before they are to die , having been silent ( or alternatively , not so musical ) during most of their lifetime . This belief , whose basis in actuality is long - debated , had become proverbial in ancient Greece by the 3rd century BC , and was reiterated many times in later Western poetry and art . </P>
where does the phrase swan song come from
where does the phrase swan song come from
ancient Greece
ancient Greece