Muses

[|watch hercules online] In Greek mythology, the **Muses** are goddesses who preside over the arts and sciences. They inspire people to create literature and art, especially but not limited to music, literature, poetry, etc.

(img from http://www.lunaea.com/goddess/creativity/muses.html) There are 9 Muses, namely Calliope, Euterpe, Clio, Melpomene, Terpsichore, Polyhymnia, Erato, Urania and Thalia. They are the daughters of Zeus, the king of the gods, and Mnemosyne, the goddess of memory. They are also known as the Olympian Nine, so as to distinguish them from other lesser-known Muses.

However, the number of Muses varied over time. Once there was only one, but later three were mentioned: Melete, Mneme and Aoede. They are the Elder Muses, three (or four, sometimes Mnemosyne is counted among them) Titan goddesses who are daughters of Gaia and Ouranous.

Athena and the Muses by Hans Rottenhammer (img from http://www.maicar.com/GML/MUSES.html)

**Calliope**
Calliope is the muse of epic song and poetry and her emblem is a writing tablet.

Euterpe is the muse of lyric and song and her emblem is a double flute.
 * Euterpe**

Clio is the muse of history. Her emblem is a scroll.
 * Clio**

Erato is the muse of love poetry and her emblem is a cithara, an ancient Greek musical instrument in the lyre family.
 * Erato**

Melpomene is the muse of tragedy and is usually depicted holding a tragic mask and an ivy wreath.
 * Melpomene**

Terpsichore is the muse of dance and is depicted with a lyre.
 * Terpsichore**

Polyhymnia is the muse of choral poetry and she is most commonly depicted wearing a veil.
 * Polyhymnia**

Urania is the muse of astronomy. Her emblems are the globe and compass.
 * Urania**

Thalia is the muse of comedy and her emblems are the comic mask, ivy wreath and shepherd's staff.
 * Thalia**

(images from clipart.com / http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/mgodsandgoddesses/tp/Muses.htm)

Birth of the Muses
=== Before Hera was Zeus's wife, Zeus, in the form of a shepherd, consorted with Mnemosyne for nine nights. She in turn gave birth to nine daughters, the Muses. ===

The Muses were born in this order: Calliope, Clio, Melpomene, Euterpe, Erato, Terpsichore, Urania, Thalia and Polyhymnia.

Role in The Odyssey and Other Stories
=== Homer opens The Odyssey with the line, " Andra moi ennepe, Mousa, polutropon," or in English, "Tell me, O Muse, of the man of many ways," the man of many ways being Odysseus. They are usually invoked at or near the beginning of epic poems or classical Greek hymns. They are sometimes called "the true speakers" or that they are using the author as a sort of mouthpiece. ===

The Muses are the goddesses of song and poetry. They live on Mount Olympus and it is there where they sing festive songs. On more solemn occasions such as funerals, they sing lamentations instead.
They bring to the mind of the mortal poet the events which he has to relate, grant him the gift of song and give gracefulness to each word he utters or writes. The earliest poets most probably sincerely believed being inspired by the muses when they invoked them but later on, the invocation devolved into becoming a formal imitation of the earlier poets.

The Muses on Mount Olympus (img from http://www.paleothea.com/Basic.html) Muses can also punish those who go against them. Thamyris, who proclaimed himself to excel even the muses, had his gift revoked and was punished also with blindness. The Sirens also had a contest against them, and their wing feathers were taken away, and the muses used them as ornaments. The nine daughters of Pierus, who were also said to rival the muses, were transformed into birds.

They also possess prophetic powers because they are regarded as inspiring nymphs.

** The Muses (five of them) appeared in the 1997 Disney film Hercules as the singers of the songs in the movie. **
The Muses in Hercules (Disney movie) (img from http://socialglare11.livejournal.com/tag/tv) It is from the word muse that we derive the other words museum, music and mosaic.

Several of the Muses are honored with the names of celestial bodies. For example, Clio is a Venusian crater.

The Renault Clio is named after Clio the muse. An alternative name for the car is the Renault Thalia, also a muse.

Renault Clio (img from http://www.learentacar.com/admin/cars/renault%20clio.jpg)

Words that use Calliope: Calliope (an instrument) Muse: inspiration

Words derived from the Muses Music Museum- a place where works of art and historical artifacts are stored

1. http://www.maicar.com/GML/MUSES.html
2. http://www.theoi.com/Ouranios/Mousai.html 3. http://www.oceansbridge.com/ paintings/artists/special/art/new/big/Caesar-van-Everdingen-XX-The-Four-Muses-with-Pegasus-1650-XX-Private-collection.jpg (for the uncredited picture) 4. http://www.wisegeek.com/who-are-the-muses.htm 5. http://www.pantheon.org/articles/m/muses.html 6. http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/mgodsandgoddesses/tp/Muses.htm 7. http://www.mjt.org/intro/muses.htm 8. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muses 9. http://rhadamanthus.vox.com/library/post/words-derived-from-mythology.html http://www.getwords.com/words/index/getwords/view_unit/86/?letter=W&spage=1