Muse Dancing (93,983 byte)

The Muse in Mythology

The muses were nymphs of the springs.
In Greek mythology, the nine goddesses known as the Muses were:
  1. Calliope(epic poetry)
  2. Clio(history)
  3. Erato(love poetry)
  4. Euterpe(lyric poetry)
  5. Melpomene(tragedy)
  6. Terpsichore(dancing)
  7. Thalia(comedy)
  8. Urania(astronomy and astrology)
  9. Polyhymnia(song, rhetoric, and geometry)
Mnemosyne Mnemosyne was the mother of the muses. She signified the memory of great events.
The Muses and their attributes
CALLIOPE

Muse of Eloquence and heroic Poetry. Her name
means fine voice and she is depicted with
stylus and tablets. She was the chief of the
muses. In various accounts she is the mother of
Orpheus, or of Hymen and Ialemus, or of Rhesus,
or of Linus. And those four groups were sired
by four different men, one of whom was the god Apollo.

Muse Dancing (35,247 byte)
CLIO
Muse of History, her name derives from the Greek kleos (glory) or kleiein (to celebrate). She is depicted as a virgin with a laurel wreath, a trumpet in one hand and a volume in the other one.
ERATO
Muse of lyric Poetry and Anacreontic Poetry, her name derives from the Greek Eros (love) Erato's name translates as "passionate". She was the most famous of the Muses. She is the Muse of lyric love poetry and mime, usually depicted holding a lyre. Clio is another one of the nine Muses. She was the patron of history, and inventor of historical and heroic poetry. From a union with King Pierus she bore a son, Hyacinthus. He was a handsome lad who was killed by his lover, Apollo. From his blood grew the flower that bears his name. She is represented as a nymph crowned with myrtle and roses, holding a lyre and a bow.
EUTERPE
Muse of Music. Her name means she who makes herself loved and she is usually represented as a maid crowned with a flower garland, playing the instrument she invented, the flute.
MELPOMENE
Muse of Tragedy. Her name comes from the Greek melpein (to sing). She is represented as a woman in buskins, holding a sceptre and a dagger covered in blood.
POLYHYMNIA
Muse of Rhetoric and of vocal Music lyric poetry and sacred hymns, and the inventor of the lyre. Her name comes from the Greek poly (many) and hymnos (hymn), or from mnasthai (to remember). She is depicted with a flower or pearl crown, dressed in white, her right arm in the act of haranguing, her left hand holding a sceptre.
TERPSICHORE
Muse of Dance. Her name means she who loves dance. She is depicted as a young woman, crowned with flower garlands, who dances and plays the harp.
THALIA
Muse of Comedy, her name derives from the Greek thallein (to bloom). She is depicted as a young woman crowned with an ivy garland, holding a mask and wearing ankle boots. She presided over comedy and pastoral poetry. Muse of Comidy
URANIA
Muse of Astronomy. Her name comes from the Greek ouranos (sky) and she is represented as a virgin holding a globe and a bar.

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