The 9 Greek muses who inspired the arts, musicians and poets

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What are the Greek muses? Meaning and synonym of muse

Zeus, the father of all the gods, and Mnemosyne, the Titaness who personified memory, conceived for nine nights in a row nine muses who have the gift of offering inspiration, each in its field. At first only three muses were recognized: Aedea (song), Meletea (meditation) and Mnemea (memory).

Later they were expanded to nine and Hesiod gave them names. In Greek mythology, the muses are companions in the retinue of Apollo, god of music and fine arts, and they come down to earth to whisper and inspire ideas to those who invoke them. It was Plato who turned the muses into intermediaries between the intellectual creator and the gods for the production of the work.

Since then it is considered that by invoking the muses, the artistic creator has more easy to find ideas and inspiration. The cult of the muses was essential to the development of the arts in Ancient Greece, and they really received the attention of musicians and poets until the arrival of Christianity and its demise.

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They were represented as dwelling on Olympus, where they played instruments and sang at the meals of the gods. They were associated above all with Dionysus and dramatic poetry, but also with the god Apollo, who according to Greek mythology had relations with each of the nine muses and they had offspring.

Know the names of the 9 Greek muses

Although the invocation of the muses in our time is only symbolic, in Ancient Greece the artists sincerely claimed their help. Each one was in charge of a particular artistic field. We present the Greek muses.

1. Calliope, muse of poetry

This girl with a majestic air who is represented wearing a golden crown had, according to some authors such as Hesiod, ascendancy over the others. As a higher muse, inspired epic poetry and eloquencewhich were two fundamental dimensions in the culture of the ancient Greeks: the Odyssey and the Iliad, for example, are epic poems.

According to Greek mythology, Calliope married Eagro, king of the Thracians, and they had four children: Orpheus, who saved Eurydice from the underworld, Marsyas, who challenged Apollo in a musical contest, Ialemo, and Lino. Nevertheless, Calliope is also linked to the god Apollo and some of his children are considered fathered by the god of music himself.

Calliope is also relevant for having maintained a very close relationship with Heracles (Hercules), with whom he fell in love and who taught him to sing at banquets.

2. Clio, muse of historians

The inspiring muse of the story is represented as a girl crowned with laurels, with a trumpet in one hand and a book of Thucydides in the other. Thucydides was one of the most important historians of Greece, famous for having innovated in the historiographical method by recounting his experience as an Athenian soldier in the Peloponnesian War.

In some representations also the terrestrial globe appears and the time, understanding history as a geographical and temporal concept. She is related to Piero, king of Macedon, with whom she had a son named Jacinto.

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3. Erató, muse of poetry and love

The muse of poetry and love, Erató, takes its name from the god Eros according to the story of Apollonius of Rhodes in the Argonautica. That is why the representation of him is most idyllic: in one hand he carries myrtle and roses, and with the other a lyre or zither (string instrument invented by Hermes). Inspires love and eroticism to artists.

In some representations Erató also carries a golden arrow in reference to the god Eros (homologue of the Roman god Cupid) who linked lovers with his arrows.

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4. Euterpe, muse of music

This muse is considered to be responsible for inspiring musicians and appears as a maiden with a double piccolo in her hand and a crown of flowers. Unlike Calliope (muse of epic poetry), Euterpe inspires lyrical poetry, and is also considered by some to be inventor of the double piccoloalthough others grant that privilege to Athena.

Euterpe was pregnant by the river Strymon and gave birth to Reso, mythical king of Thrace who died at the hands of Diomedes in Troy (episode narrated by Homer in the Iliad).

5. Melpomene, muse of tragedy

Initially she was the muse of musical harmony, but later she went from being the muse of song to the muse of tragedy, so in the end she became an inspiration for the theater. That is why she was the companion of Dionysus, divinity of tragedy, and in some mythologies she is considered the mother of the sirens in union with the sea god Phorcis.

Mythology says that Melpomene had everything that any woman wanted: beauty, wisdom and wealth. However, she could not be happy and his life became a tragedy. She is depicted in elegant clothes but with a serious countenance and a stern look. In her hand she holds a mask as the main attribute of the theater.

6. Polyhymnia, muse of sacred songs

According to Greek mythology, the muse of lyrical-sacred poetry, that is, of the sacred songs, is Polyhymnia, who also invented the lyre and agriculture. As a muse she also participates in the inspiration of history, geometry and dance, but her main attribute is to offer ideas and inspiration for the composition of sacred pieces.

It is usually represented as a woman dressed in white leaning one elbow on a pedestal and putting a finger to the mouth as a sign of meditation. Sometimes she also wears a veil, a symbol of sacredness and purity.

7. Thalia, muse of comedy

Along with Melpomene, Talía is the muse of the theater, only while the former inspires tragedy, andthis is the muse that inspires comedy. She is also the muse of bucolic or pastoral poetry, a highly prized genre in Ancient Greece.

She is depicted as a lively, laughing girl with a quizzical look, wearing a comical mask in her hands and a crown of ivy on her head. she kept a relationship with Apollo and both gave life to the Corybantesdancers wearing a helmet who danced in the cult of the Phrygian goddess Cybele.

8. Terpsichore, muse of dance

Greek mythology considers the slender, agile and jovial Terpsichore as muse of dance, dancing and choirs of dancers. She is represented as a girl with harmonic lines wearing a flower crown and carrying a lyre in her hand.

In fact, originally Terpsichore was a nymph linked to nature, and in some versions she is considered the mother of the sirens. However, in most of the texts she appeared as one of the nymphs fathered by Zeus and Mnemosyne, and finally she was consolidated as the inspirer of dances and dances, a very important discipline for the Greeks.

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9. Urania

This is the least of all the muses and, specifically, inspires Astronomy and Astrology. That is why she is represented with blue clothing, which resembles the blue of the celestial vault, and wears a crown made up of a group of stars. The development of the sciences was also very important in Greece, for which she was a highly revered muse.

As the muse of astronomy, Urania is a name attributed to various observatories in Berlin, Vienna and Zurich, for instance. It is also a widely used name in esotericism and astrology. He had a relationship with Apollo, and gave life to Lino.

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The muses of Hercules: from myth to fiction

One of the classic Disney movies, Herculesincorporates the characters of the muses in an original staging who captivated the public thanks to his dances. The film was released in 1997 and was a complete success, not only for its artistic execution but also for the charm of its inspiration in classical mythology.

Within the cast of characters that accompany the hero Hercules in his adventures are the muses, which although in mythology there were nine, in the film there are five: Calliope, Thalia, Clio, Terpsichore and Melpomene.

His appearances are always surrounded by music and dance. For example, they interrupt the story of Hercules for being too dramatic and enliven the scene by singing the defeat of the Titans at the hands of Zeus in the musical piece «The Gospel Truth». They also sing the exploits of Hercules in “Zero to Hero”, and accompany Megara in “I Wo n’t Say (I’m in Love)” when she acknowledges her love for the hero.

When at the end of the film Hercules is proclaimed hero, they star in the song «A Star is Born». A curiosity: it was even raised that the Spice Girls put voice to the songs of the muses of Hercules, an idea that was ultimately discarded.