muses

(Greek: goddesses of fine arts; including, Calliope, Clio, Erato, Urania, Euterpe, Polyhymnia, Thalia, Melpomene, and Terpsichore)

Goddesses of the various fine arts. There were nine beautiful daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne [nee MAHS uh nee], a Titaness, from which we have words meaning "memory," and "mnemonic".

The Muses were goddesses of poetic inspiration and poets of ancient times, and even of early-modern times, would always start important poems by calling on the Muses for inspiration. In those classical times, poetry, drama, and other forms of recitation were done from memory with the accompaniment of melodious sounds that came to be known as "music". Temples built in honor of the Muses were devoted to study and learning and these temples became known as "musia", or incorrectly as "museums".


The nine Muses were in charge of different branches of the fine arts.

Calliope (kuh LIGH uh pee) (s) (noun) (no plural)
Chief of the Muses who was the Muse of heroic poetry, epic poetry, and eloquence.
Clio (KLEE oh)
The muse of history.
Erato (ER uh toh)
The feminine-version name of Eros was the Muse of love poetry and lyric art.
Euterpe (yoo TUR pee)
The Muse of music; especially flute music.
Melpomene (mel PAHM i nee)
The Muse of tragedy.
Polyhymnia (PAHL ee HIM nee uh)
In Greek mythology, the Muse of sacred songs or hymns, one of the nine Muses believed to inspire and nurture the arts.
Terpsichore (terp SIK oh ree)
The ninth Muse was the goddess of the dance. Even today, dancing is sometimes jokingly spoken of as the "terpsichorean art".
Thalia (thuh LIGH uh)
The Muse of comedy.
Urania (yoo RAY nee uh)
The feminine-version name of Uranus was the Muse of astronomy.