HISTORY OF THE MUSES
Where myth becomes reality..
According to tradition, when the Gods defeated the titans they asked Zeus (father of the Gods) to create a group of new divinities whose task would be to sing the praises of that great victory. Zeus therefore lay on nine nights with Mnemosyne (memory), daughter of Uranus (Heaven) and Gaia (mother Earth) and the Nine Muses were born. Each muse had a different symbol, art and telent.
ERATO "The Amorous One"
The muse of love, poetry and mimicry. She is seen with a lyre and sometimes wears a crown of roses.
KLIO "The Glorious One"
The muse of history. She is often seen sitting with a scroll and accompanied by a chest of books. She introduced the Phoenician alphabet to Greece.
POLIMNIA "The Singer of many Hymns"
The muse of sacred and rhetoric poetry. She has also been called the muse of geometry, meditation and agriculture. Polimnia is often seen veiled.
KALLIOPE "The Beautiful of Speech"
The muse of epic poetry. Her name means 'sweet voice'. She and the god Apollo were the parents of Orpheus, the great musician.
URANIA "The Celestial One"
The muse of astronomy. She is represented with a staff and a celestial globe. She had the ability to foretell the future by observing the position of the stars.
EFTERPI "The Well-Pleasing One"
The muse of lyric poetry. She is represented by a flute. Her name comes from the Greek "Euterpian", meaning 'to please'.
MELPOMENI "The Chanting One"
The muse of tragedy in spite of her joyous singing. She is represented by a tragic mask and is sometimes seen with a garland, a club or a sword.
THALIA "The Blossoming One"
The muse of comedy and of playful and idyllic poetry. She is represented by a comic mask and is also seen with a crown of ivy and a crook.
TERPSICHORI "The One who Delights in Dance"
The muse of dance and song. She is usually seen dancing with her lyre.
