1. The Muses

2. Inspiration
To the ancient Greeks, everything revolved around the gods.
To them, an idea (inspiration) came as a gift from the gods. Specifically, there were nine sisters that presided over different areas of thought.

3. The Muses preside over the arts and sciences, they are responsible for inspiring artists (poets especially), philosophers, and musicians.

4. Origins
The muses are the daughters of Zues (lord of the sky, leader of the Olympian gods) and Mnemosyne (the goddess of memory).

5. The 9 Muses The Muses of Poetry
At the time, Poetry was the language art. There were no novels, short stories, etc.
Calliope - the muse of epic poetry
Euterpe - the muse of lyric poetry
Erato - the muse of love poetry
Polyhymnia - the muse of sacred poetry

6. The 9 Muses Clio - the muse of history Melpomene - the muse of tragedy
Terpsichore - the muse of choral songs and the dance
Urania - the muse of astronomy
Thalia - the muse of comedy