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Key terms:
Mnemosyne: Goddess of memory
Hesiod: Ancient Greek poet
Orpheus: Musician, poet, and prophet
Linus: Musician and master of eloquent speech
The Sirens: Dangerous, alluring sea creatures
Amyclae: City of ancient Laconia
Cliometrics: Interpretation of economic history
Cliodynamics: Research into cultural evolution, macrosociology, mathematics in history and analysis of historical databases
Marysas: Phrygian satyr
Apollodorus: Historian and grammarian
Aulos: Wind instrument
Cothurnus: A distinctive boot associated with tragic actors
The Muses are key figures within Ancient Greek religion and mythology. They were believed to be the nine daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne and were celebrated for being influential goddesses of literature and the arts, such as poetry, song, and myth. The origin of The Muses is debated – some scholars believed they were from Boeotia, the homeland of Hesiod, and others believed they were of Thracian origin. The sisters are seen in a wealth of myths and epic poetry and are commonly used by playwrights to help bridge the gap between the mortals and immortals.
Calliope
Calliope is known as the muse of eloquence and epic poetry. She is labelled by Hesiod and Ovid as the ‘Chief of all Muses’ and was also seen as the wisest. She is the mother of Orpheus and Linus, and the Sirens too (in the eyes of some scholars); her sons’ paternal genealogy is debated, but in many myths, their father is believed to be Apollo. Calliope is presented as the main muse within Homer’s epic poems, the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is also invoked in Virgil’s Aeneid.
Clio
Clio is the muse of history and lyre playing. She is known as the ‘proclaimer and glorifier’ and commonly seen with a book or scroll on her travels. Like her sister, she too has a son, Hyacinth – a divine hero who was the leader of the cult at Amyclae; other sources also say she is the mother of Hymen, the god of marriage ceremonies. Her name has been utilised in modern society when dissecting branches of history: cliometrics and cliodynamics.
Euterpe
Euterpe is the muse of music and is also associated with lyric poetry. The Greek lyric poet Pindar argues that Euterpe is the mother of the Thracian king Rhesus. As she is commonly depicted holding a wind instrument, Euterpe finds herself at the centre of a scholarly debate when it comes to the invention of the aulos – even though some Classicists credit her with the creation, others attribute the idea to Marsyas or Athena. She was commonly invoked in prayer by the ancient Greeks in the hope she would guide them through their compositions.
Thalia
Thalia is the muse associated with comedy and idyllic poetry. She is seen as the ‘flourishing’ muse and adorned with ivy, boots and a comic mask throughout her iconography. Once again, she is a muse whose maternity is debated; however, Apollodorus names her as the mother of the Corybantes – dancers who worshipped the goddess Cybele.
Melpomene
Melpomene was the muse of chorus and tragedy. Her depictions associate her with the cothurnus, while she holds a knife or club in one hand and a tragic mask in the other. From Horace onwards, it was auspicious to invoke Melpomene.
Terpsichore
Terpsichore, who lends her name to the word terpsichorean (relating to dance), is the muse of dance and chorus. She is usually depicted as sitting down with a lyre, in the presence of dancers.
Erato
Erato is the muse of love poetry. She is a reoccurring figure throughout many myths and literature pieces, from the Orphic hymn, Simon Vouet’s representations, and Hesiod’s Theogony. She is also the muse who is invoked at the beginning of Book 7 of Virgil’s Aeneid – the invoking of the muses is a trope that Virgil adopted from Homer.
Polyhymnia
The muse of sacred poetry, sacred hymn, dance, eloquence, agriculture, and pantomime is Polyhymnia. She is often depicted in a meditative, pensive state but was praised by Siculus for bringing distinction to writers. She was the mother of Triptolemus – a mortal prince.
Urania
Urania is the muse of astronomy and, in later times, Christian poetry. She is associated with Universal Love and the Holy Spirit and was thought to be able to raise spirits to heaven. Her involvement within Christianity is made prominent in Milton’s Paradise Lost when the narrator invokes Urania for her aid in guiding the story. She is said to have adopted her father Zeus's greatness and the beauty of her mother Mnemosyne.
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