Historiae Romanorum

The Muses

The Muses are the daughters of Zeus and the Titan Mnemosyne.  For nine nights Zeus and Mnemosyne were together, and hence there are nine.  These sisters give artistic inspiration to men.  They are: Clio (history), Euterpe (the flute), Thaleia (comedy), Melpomene (tragedy), Terpsichore (dancing), Erato (the lyre), Polyphymnia (hymns to the gods), Urania (astronomy), and Calliope (epic poetry).  Calliope is chief among them.

The Muses reside on Olympus, next to Zeus.  If Zeus favors a king, the Muses come down to earth and give him the gift of eloquence.  The Muses are also closely associated with Apollo, himself a god of the arts.  Virtually every written work in antiquity (I personally can not think of any), begins with a prayer to Apollo and at least one Muse for divine inspiration.

Source(s):

1. Hesiod.  Theogeny.

2. Oxford Concise Companion to Classical Literature.  ed.  Howatson and Chilvers.  Oxford.  New York, 1993.

This page was last updated on July 21, 2004.