The Muses By Chloe Cox

Who were they? Calliope was the mother of Orpheus and the superior Muse, she was the protector of epic poetry and rhetoric art, and she is depicted holding laurels in one hand and two Homeric poems in the other hand. Clio discovered history and the guitar. She is presented with a book in her left hand.

Who were they? Euterpe discovered lyric poetry and the aulos which was a Greek flute. Thalia was the protector of comedy, geometry, architectural science, and agriculture. She is depicted wearing the theatrical comedy mask.

Who were they? Melpomene was the protector of tragedy, rhetoric speech, and Melos. She was depicted holding a tragic mask. Terpsichore was the protector of dance. She was depicted wearing laurels and holding a harp while dancing. Erato was the protector of love and love poetry. She was depicted holding the lyre and love arrows and bows.

Who were they? Polyhymnia was the protector of hymns and mimic art. She also invented geometry and grammar. She is depicted looking up to the sky and holding a lyre. Urania was the inventor of astronomy and protected the stars. She was depicted as holding stars, a celestial sphere, and a bow compass.

In the Beginning Zeus lured Mnemoysne the goddess of personification of memory to sleep with him for nine days. Their encounter resulted in the birth of the nine muses, who are also considered water nymphs, and they are personifications of the arts.

Then Mnemosyne gave the nine babies to Nymph Eufime and the God Apollo Then Mnemosyne gave the nine babies to Nymph Eufime and the God Apollo. The muses lived on Mt. Olympus with Apollo who taught them the way of the arts. It is said that the muses would entertain their father and the Olympian gods with their beautiful artistry, but later moved to Mt. Helicon in Boeotia where there was a major cult center to the goddesses. It is also said that they went to Mt. Parnassus where poets and artists would go to the Castalian spring.

Once the nine daughters of Pierus saw how beautiful the Muses’ artistry was they foolishly tried to compete musically with the Muses on Mt. Helicon. They were all turned into birds for their insolence. Next the son of the Nymph Agriope, the Thracian musician Thamyres, also challenged the Muses. He came second best to the goddesses and was punished with blindness, the loss of musical talent, and his singing voice. It is also said that they judged a musical competition between Apollo on his kithara and Marsyas on his aulos given to him by Athena. Apollo won and Marsyas was flayed alive for his troubles.

Hesiod a poet who wrote the famous poem “The Simple Shepard” claimed that he spoke to the Muses on Mt. Helicon, and gave him a laurel branch and gave him their divine voice so that he could claim the glory of the gods and their descendants. Hesiod also said that the Muses were a an aid for troubles and caused forgetfulness which served as a balance to their mother who personified memory.

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Works Cited http://www.greekmythology.com/Other_Gods/The_Muses/the_mus es.html http://www.greekmyths-greekmythology.com/nine-muses-in-greek- mythology/ http://www.ancient.eu/muse/