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{{Short description|Inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts}}
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[[File:Muse reading Louvre CA2220.jpg|thumb|Muse, perhaps [[Clio]], reading a scroll (Attic red-figure [[lekythos]], [[Boeotia]], {{circa|430 BC}})]]
In [[ancient Greek religion]] and [[Greek mythology|mythology]], the '''Muses''' ({{langx|grc|Μοῦσαι|Moûsai}}, {{langx|el|Μούσες|Múses}}) were the [[Artistic inspiration|inspirational]] goddesses of [[literature]], [[science]], and [[the arts]]. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the [[poetry]], [[lyric poetry|lyric songs]], and [[myth]]s that were related orally for centuries in ancient Greek culture.

The number and names of the Muses differed by region, but from the [[Classical Greece|Classical period]] the number of Muses was standardized to nine, and their names were generally given as [[Calliope]], [[Clio]], [[Polyhymnia]], [[Euterpe]], [[Terpsichore]], [[Erato]], [[Melpomene]], [[Thalia (Muse)|Thalia]], and [[Urania]].<ref>Grimal, s.v. Muses.</ref>

In modern figurative usage, a '''muse''' is a [[Muse (source of inspiration)|person who serves as someone's source of artistic inspiration]].

==Etymology==
[[File:Afbeelding van Clio.jpg|thumb|308x308px|Print of Clio, made in the 16th–17th century. Preserved in the [[Ghent University Library]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Clio|url=https://lib.ugent.be/viewer/archive.ugent.be:B3CC4648-A6A8-11E6-B1A4-293ED43445F2#?c=&m=&s=&cv=&xywh=-3760,-343,12270,6851|access-date=2020-09-28|website=lib.ugent.be}}</ref>]]
The word ''Muses'' ({{langx|grc|Μοῦσαι|Moûsai}}) perhaps came from the [[Indo-European ablaut#Proto-Indo-European|o-grade]] of the [[Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European]] root {{Lang|ine-x-proto|men-}} (the basic meaning of which is 'put in mind' in verb formations with transitive function and 'have in mind' in those with intransitive function),{{Sfn|West|2007|p=34}} or from root {{Lang|ine-x-proto|men-}} ('to tower, mountain') since all the most important cult-centres of the Muses were on mountains or hills.<ref>* A. B. Cook (1914), ''Zeus: A Study in Ancient Religion'', Vol. I, p. 104, Cambridge University Press.</ref> [[Robert S. P. Beekes|R. S. P. Beekes]] rejects the latter etymology and suggests that a [[Pre-Greek]] origin is also possible.<ref>[[Robert S. P. Beekes|R. S. P. Beekes]], ''Etymological Dictionary of Greek'', Brill, 2009, p. 972.</ref>

== Number and names ==
[[File:Hesiod and the Muse.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Gustave Moreau]]: ''Hesiod and the Muse'' (1891)—[[Musée d'Orsay]], Paris|left]]
[[File:Johann Christoph Storer, Apollo and the Muses on Mount Parnassus, c. 1650, NGA 127331.jpg|alt= Pen and brown ink sketch of Apollo and the Muses enjoying music|thumb|upright|''Apollo and the Muses on Mount Parnassus'', c. 1650, by Johann Christoph Storer. Held at [[National Gallery of Art]]]]

The earliest known records of the Muses come from [[Boeotia]] (Boeotian muses). Some ancient authorities regarded the Muses as of [[Thracians|Thracian]] origin.<ref>{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=Ds2oBKF_FrUC|title= The Growth of Literature|publisher= Cambridge University Press |isbn= 9781108016155|author= H. Munro Chadwick, Nora K. Chadwick|year= 2010}}</ref> In Thrace, a tradition of three original Muses persisted.<ref>At least, this was reported to [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]] in the second century AD. ''Cfr.'' Karl Kerényi: ''The Gods of the Greeks'', Thames & Hudson, London 1951, p. 104 and note 284.</ref>

In the first century BC, [[Diodorus Siculus]] cited [[Homer]] and [[Hesiod]] to the contrary, observing:
{{blockquote|Writers similarly disagree also concerning the number of the Muses; for some say that there are three, and others that there are nine, but the number nine has prevailed since it rests upon the authority of the most distinguished men, such as Homer and Hesiod and others like them.<ref>[[Diodorus Siculus]], 4.7.1–2 ([http://www.theoi.com/Text/DiodorusSiculus4A.html#7 on-line text])</ref>}}

Diodorus states (Book I.18) that [[Osiris]] first recruited the nine Muses, along with the [[satyr]]s, while passing through [[Aethiopia]], before embarking on a tour of all Asia and Europe, teaching the arts of cultivation wherever he went.

According to Hesiod's account ({{Circa|700 BC}}), generally followed by the writers of antiquity, the Nine Muses were the nine daughters of [[Zeus]] and [[Mnemosyne]] (i.e., "Memory" personified), figuring as personifications of knowledge and the arts, especially poetry, literature, dance and music.

The Roman scholar [[Varro]] (116–27 BC) relates that there are only three Muses: one born from the movement of water, another who makes sound by striking the air, and a third who is embodied only in the human voice. They were called [[Melete]] or "Practice", [[Mneme]] or "Memory" and [[Aoide]] or "Song".{{Citation needed|reason=There's no reference to where Varro says that.|date=June 2023}} The ''Quaestiones Convivales'' of [[Plutarch]] (46–120 AD) also report three ancient Muses (9.I4.2–4).<ref>See also the Italian article on [[:it:Plutarco|this writer]].</ref><ref>Susan Scheinberg, in reporting other Hellenic maiden triads in "The Bee Maidens of the Homeric Hymn to Hermes", references Diodorus, Plutarch and Pausanias - ''Harvard Studies in Classical Philology'', '''83''' (1979:1–28), p. 2.</ref>

However, the [[Classical antiquity|classical]] understanding of the Muses tripled their triad and established a set of nine goddesses, who embody the arts and inspire creation with their graces through remembered and [[improvised]] song and mime, writing, traditional music, and dance. It was not until [[Hellenistic]] times that the following systematic set of functions became associated with them, and even then some variation persisted both in their names and in their attributes:

[[File:Nine muses and mnemosyne symbols disc from elis greece.jpg|thumb|upright|Mosaic with symbols of each Muse and Mnemosyne, 1st century BC, Archaeological Museum of [[Ancient Elis]].]]

{{block indent|1=<nowiki />
* [[Calliope]] ([[epic poetry]])
* [[Clio]] (history)
* [[Polyhymnia]] ([[hymn]] and mime)
* [[Euterpe]] (flute)
* [[Terpsichore]] (chorus and dance)
* [[Erato]] (lyric choral poetry)
* [[Melpomene]] (tragedy)
* [[Thalia (Muse)|Thalia]] (light verse and comedy)
* [[Urania]] (astronomy and astrology)<ref>For this list of names and attributes, see Grimal, s.v. Muses.</ref>
}}

[[File:Muses sarcophagus Louvre MR880.jpg|thumb|The nine Muses on a Roman [[sarcophagus]] (second century AD)—[[Louvre]], Paris|270x270px]]
According to [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], who wrote in the later second century AD, there were originally three Muses, worshipped on [[Mount Helicon]] in [[Boeotia]]: [[Aoide]] ('song' or 'tune'), [[Melete]] ('practice' or 'occasion'), and [[Mneme]] ('memory').<ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], ''Description of Greece'' [https://topostext.org/work/213#9.29.1 9.29.1–9.29.2]</ref> Together, these three form the complete picture of the preconditions of poetic art in [[cult (religion)|cult practice]].

In [[Delphi]] too three Muses were worshipped, but with other names: [[Nete (mythology)|Nete]], [[Mese (mythology)|Mese]], and [[Hypate]], which are assigned as the names of the three chords of the ancient musical instrument, the [[lyre]].<ref>Plutarch Symposium 9.14</ref>

Alternatively, later they were called [[Cephisso]], [[Apollonis]], and [[Borysthenis]] - names which characterize them as daughters of [[Apollo]].<ref>[[Eumelus of Corinth|Eumelus]] fr. 35 as cited from [[John Tzetzes|Tzetzes]] on [[Hesiod]], 23; Tzetzes on Hesiod, ''Works and Days'' 6</ref>

A later tradition recognized a set of four Muses: [[Thelxinoë]], [[Aoide]], [[Arche (mythology)|Archē]], and [[Melete]], said to be daughters of Zeus and Plusia or of [[Uranus (mythology)|Ouranos]].<ref>[[Cicero]], ''[[De Natura Deorum]]'' [https://topostext.org/work/137#3.53 3.53], Epicharmis, ''Tzetzes on Hes''. 23</ref> One of the people frequently associated with the Muses was [[Pierus of Emathia|Pierus]]. By some he was called the father (by a [[Pimpleia]]n nymph, called [[Antiope (Greek myth)|Antiope]] by [[Cicero]]) of a total of seven Muses, called {{Lang|grc-latn|Neilṓ|italic=no}} ({{Lang|grc|Νειλώ}}), {{Lang|grc-latn|Tritṓnē|italic=no}} ({{Lang|grc|Τριτώνη}}), {{Lang|grc-latn|Asōpṓ|italic=no}} ({{Lang|grc|Ἀσωπώ}}), {{Lang|grc-latn|Heptápora|italic=no}} ({{Lang|grc|Ἑπτάπορα}}), Achelōís, {{Lang|grc-latn|Tipoplṓ|italic=no}} ({{Lang|grc|Τιποπλώ}}), and {{Lang|grc-latn|Rhodía|italic=no}} ({{Lang|grc|Ῥοδία}}).<ref>Epicharmis, ''Tzetzes on Hes''. 23</ref><ref>[[William Smith (lexicographer)|Smith, William]]; ''[[Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology]]'', London (1873). [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0104:entry=musae-bio-1 "Musae" ].</ref>

Ancient writers often called [[Boeotia]] [[Aonia]], and because the Muses often visited Mount Helicon in Boeotia, they were called Aonides and Aoniae Sorores.<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0064%3Aalphabetic+letter%3DA%3Aentry+group%3D10%3Aentry%3Daones-geo Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854), Aones]</ref><ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0059:entry=Aonia Charlton T. Lewis, Charles Short, A Latin Dictionary, Aonia]</ref>

== Mythology ==
[[File:Thalia sarcophagus Louvre Ma475.jpg|thumb|left|upright|[[Thalia (Muse)|Thalia]], Muse of comedy, holding a comic mask (detail from the "Muses Sarcophagus")]]
[[File:Claude Lorrain Apollo Muses.jpg|thumb|right|''Apollo and the Muses on Mount Helicon'' (1680) by [[Claude Lorrain]]]]
According to [[Hesiod]]'s ''[[Theogony]]'' (seventh century BC), they were daughters of [[Zeus]], king of the gods, and [[Mnemosyne]], Titan goddess of memory. Hesiod in Theogony narrates that the Muses brought to people forgetfulness, that is, the forgetfulness of pain and the cessation of obligations.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Collective work by scholars and expertise|title=Επιστήμη & Ζωή|publisher=CHATZIAKOVOU S.A.|year=1980|location=Greece|pages=Vol.13, p.151|edition=Printed}}</ref>

For [[Alcman]] and [[Mimnermus]], they were even more [[Greek primordial gods|primordial]], springing from the early deities [[Uranus (mythology)|Ouranos]] and [[Gaia (mythology)|Gaia]]. Gaia is [[Mother goddess|Mother Earth]], an [[Mother Nature|early mother goddess]] who was worshipped at [[Delphi]] from prehistoric times, long before the site was rededicated to Apollo, possibly indicating a transfer to association with him after that time.

Sometimes the Muses are referred to as water [[nymph]]s, associated with the springs of [[Mount Helicon|Helicon]] and with [[Pieria (prefecture)|Pieris]]. It was said that the winged horse [[Pegasus]] touched his hooves to the ground on Helicon, causing four sacred springs to burst forth, from which the Muses, also known as [[pegasides]], were born.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.elysiumgates.com/mt_olympus/histpegasus.html|title=Elysium Gates - Historical Pegasus|access-date=2010-02-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090616103044/http://www.elysiumgates.com/mt_olympus/histpegasus.html|archive-date=2009-06-16|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>[[Ovid]], ''[[Heroides]]'' [https://archive.org/stream/heroidesamores00ovid#page/182/mode/2up 15.27]: "the daughters of Pegasus" in the English translation; [[Propertius]], ''Poems'' [https://archive.org/stream/propertiuswithen00propuoft#page/176/mode/2up 3.1.19]: "Pegasid Muses" in the English translation.</ref> [[Athena]] later tamed the horse and presented him to the Muses (compare the Roman inspiring nymphs of springs, the [[Camenae]], the [[Völva]] of [[Norse mythology]] and also the [[apsaras]] in the mythology of classical [[India]]).

Classical writers set [[Apollo]] as their leader, {{Lang|grc-latn|Apollon Mousēgetēs}} ('Apollo Muse-leader').<ref>For example, Plato, ''Laws'' 653d.</ref> In one myth, the Muses judged a contest between Apollo and [[Marsyas]]. They also gathered the pieces of the dead body of [[Orpheus]], son of [[Calliope]], and buried them in [[Leivithra]]. In a later myth, [[Thamyris]] challenged them to a singing contest. They won and punished Thamyris by blinding him and robbing him of his singing ability.

According to a myth from [[Ovid]]'s ''[[Metamorphoses]]''—alluding to the connection of Pieria with the Muses—[[Pierus of Emathia|Pierus]], king of [[Macedon]], had nine daughters he named after the nine Muses, believing that their skills were a great match to the Muses. He thus challenged the Muses to a match, resulting in his daughters, the ''[[Pierides (mythology)|Pierides]]'', being turned into chattering [[magpie]]s for their presumption.<ref>Ovid, ''[[Metamorphoses]]'' 5.677–78: "Now their previous eloquence also remained in the birds, as well as their strident chattering and their great zeal for speaking." See also [[Antoninus Liberalis]] 9.</ref>

[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]] records a tradition of two generations of Muses; the first are the daughters of [[Uranus (mythology)|Ouranos]] and Gaia, the second of [[Zeus]] and [[Mnemosyne]]. Another, rarer genealogy is that they are daughters of [[Harmonia (Greek goddess)|Harmonia]] (the daughter of [[Aphrodite]] and [[Ares]]), which contradicts the myth in which they were dancing at the wedding of [[Harmonia (Greek goddess)|Harmonia]] and [[Cadmus]].

===Children===
[[Calliope]] had two sons, [[Ialemus]] and [[Orpheus]], with [[Apollo]]. In another version of the story, the father of Orpheus was [[Oeagrus]], but Apollo adopted him and taught him the skill of lyre while Calliope trained him in singing.

[[Linus of Thrace|Linus]] was said<ref>[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Pseudo-Apollodorus]]. ''Bibliotheca 1.3.2''</ref> to have been the son of Apollo and one of the Muses, either Calliope or Terpsichore or Urania. [[Rhesus of Thrace|Rhesus]] was the son of [[Strymon (mythology)|Strymon]] and Calliope or Euterpe.

The [[siren (mythology)|sirens]] were the children of [[Achelous]] and Melpomene or Terpsichore. Kleopheme was the daughter of Erato and Malos. [[Hyacinth (mythology)|Hyacinth]] was the son of Clio, according to an unpopular account.<ref name="Pseudo-Apollodorus 1.3.3">[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Apollod.+1.3.3&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022:book=1:chapter=3&highlight=Hyacinth 1.3.3]</ref>

[[Hymen (god)|Hymenaeus]] was assigned as Apollo's son by one of the muses, either Calliope, or Clio, or Terpsichore, or Urania. [[Corybantes]] were the children of Thalia and Apollo.<ref>[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg001.perseus-eng1:1.3.4 1.3.4]</ref>

===Against the Sirens===
In the sanctuary of [[Hera]] in [[Coroneia]] was a statue created by Pythodorus of Thebes, depicting Hera holding the sirens. According to the myth, Hera persuaded the sirens to challenge the Muses to a singing contest. After the Muses won, they are said to have plucked the sirens' feathers and used them to make crowns for themselves.<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160%3Abook%3D9%3Achapter%3D34%3Asection%3D3 Pausanias, Description of Greece, 9.34.3]</ref><ref name="Lempriere">Lemprière 768.</ref> According to [[Stephanus of Byzantium]], the sirens, overwhelmed by their loss, cast off their feathers from their shoulders, turned white and then threw themselves into the sea. As a result, the nearby city was named [[Aptera, Greece|Aptera]] ("featherless") and the nearby islands were called the ''Leukai'' ("the white ones").<ref>Caroline M. Galt, "A marble fragment at Mount Holyoke College from the Cretan city of Aptera", ''Art and Archaeology'' '''6''' (1920:150).</ref> [[John Tzetzes]] recounts that after defeating the sirens, the Muses crowned themselves with the sirens' wings, except for [[Terpsichore]] who was their mother, adding that the city of Aptera named after this event.<ref>[https://topostext.org/work/860#653 Tzetzes, Ad Lycophronem, 653]</ref> Furthermore, in one of his letters, [[Julian the Emperor]] mentions the Muses' victory over the sirens.<ref>[https://topostext.org/work/803#74 Julian the Emperor, Letters, 74]</ref>

==Cult==

The Muses had several temples and shrines in ancient Greece, their two main cult centres being Mount Helikon in Boiotia, which holds the [[Valley of the Muses]], and [[Pieria (regional unit)|Pieria]] in [[Macedonia (Greece)|Macedonia]].
[[Strabo]] wrote: 
:"Helikon, not far distant from Parnassos, rivals it both in height and in circuit; for both are rocky and covered with snow, and their circuit comprises no large extent of territory. Here are the temple of the Mousai and Hippukrene and the cave of the Nymphai called the Leibethrides; and from this fact one might infer that those who consecrated Helikon to the Mousai were Thrakians, the same who dedicated Pieris and Leibethron and Pimpleia [in Pieria] to the same goddesses. The Thrakians used to be called Pieres, but, now that they have disappeared, the [[Macedonia (Greece)|Macedonians]] hold these places."<ref>Strabo, Geography 9. 2. 25 (trans. Jones)</ref>
The cult of the Muses was also commonly connected to that of Apollo.

==Emblems==
[[File:Anonimo Ferrarese by Francesco del Cossa.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Polyhymnia]], the Muse of sacred [[poetry]], sacred [[hymn]] and [[eloquence]] as well as agriculture and [[pantomime]].]]

The following table lists the Classical names and attributes of the standard list of the nine Muses,<ref>As given by Grimal, s.v. Muses,</ref> as well as their various associated symbols:

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:0 0 1em 1em;"
|-
! Muse
! Attribute
! Symbols
|-
| [[Calliope]]
| [[Epic poetry]]
| [[Wax tablet|Writing tablet]], [[Stylus]], [[Lyre]]<ref>{{cite web |last1=Miate |first1=Liana |title=Calliope |url=https://www.worldhistory.org/Calliope/ |website=World History Encyclopedia |date=November 2022 |access-date=6 November 2024}}</ref> ([[:File:The Muse Calliope by Eustache Le Sueur.jpg|image]])
|-
| [[Clio]]
| History
| [[Scroll]]s, [[Book]]s, [[Cornett]], [[Laurel wreath]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Car of history clock |url=https://www.aoc.gov/explore-capitol-campus/art/car-history-clock |website=Architect of the Capitol |access-date=6 November 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Clio |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Clio-Greek-mythology |access-date=6 November 2024}}</ref>
|-
| [[Polyhymnia]]
| [[mime#Ancient Greece and Rome|Mime]]
| [[Veil]], [[Grapes]] (referring to her as an agricultural goddess)<ref>{{cite web |last1=Gill |first1=N.S. |title=Who Were the 9&nbsp;Greek Muses? |website=ThoughtCo |url=https://www.thoughtco.com/the-greek-muses-119788 |access-date=6 November 2024}}</ref> ([[:File:La musa Polimnia probably by Francesco del Cossa.jpg|image]])
|-
| [[Euterpe]]
| Flute
| [[Aulos]] (an [[ancient Greek]] [[musical instrument]] like a double [[oboe]]), [[panpipes]], [[laurel wreath]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Euterpe (music, lyric poetry) (from the Tarocchi series&nbsp;D: ''Apollo and the Muses'', #18) |author=Master of the E-series Tarocchi |url=https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1924.432.18 |publisher=[[Cleveland Museum of Art]] }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=van Hoogstraten |first1=Samuel |title=Euterpe de Reedewikster |website=[[The British Museum]] |url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1856-0614-222 |access-date=7 November 2024}}</ref>
|-
| [[Terpsichore]]
| Light verse and dance
| [[Lyre]], [[Plectrum]]<ref>{{cite web |last1=Atsma |first1=Aaron |title=Terpsichore |website=Theoi |publisher=Theoi Project |url=https://www.theoi.com/Ouranios/MousaTerpsikhore.html |access-date=7 November 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Nattier |first1=Jean-Marc |title=Terpsichore, muse of music and dance |website=[[Fine Art Museums of San Francisco]] |url=https://www.famsf.org/artworks/terpsichore-muse-of-music-and-dance |access-date=7 November 2024}}</ref>
|-
|[[Erato]]
|[[Greek lyric|Lyric choral poetry]]
|[[Cithara]] ([[:File:Erato monte calvo.jpg|image]])<ref>{{cite web |last1=Wedgwood |first1=Josiah |title=Erato |website=Royal Collection Trust |url=https://www.rct.uk/collection/43804/erato |access-date=7 November 2024}}</ref>
|-
| [[Melpomene]]
| [[Greek tragedy|Tragedy]]
| [[Theatre of ancient Greece#Masks|Tragic mask]], [[sword]] (or any kind of [[blade]]), [[Club (weapon)|club]], [[buskins|kothornos]] (boots)<ref>{{cite web |last1=de&nbsp;Bry |first1=Johann Theodor |title=Melpomene, muse of tragedy |website=[[Art Institute of Chicago]] |url=https://www.artic.edu/artworks/157142/melpomene-muse-of-tragedy-plate-8-from-parnassus-biceps |access-date=7 November 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Atsma |first1=Aaron |title=Melpomene |website=Theoi |publisher=Theoi Project |url=https://www.theoi.com/Ouranios/MousaMelpomene.html |access-date=7 November 2024}}</ref>
|-
| [[Thalia (Muse)|Thalia]]
| [[Ancient Greek comedy|Comedy]]
| [[Theatre of ancient Greece#Masks|Comic mask]], [[Ivy]] wreath, [[Shepherd's crook]]<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Thaia |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Thalia-Greek-mythology |access-date=7 November 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Nattier |first1=Jean-Mark |title=Thalia, muse of comedy |website=Fine Art Museums of San Francisco |url=https://www.famsf.org/artworks/thalia-muse-of-comedy |access-date=7 November 2024}}</ref>
|-
| [[Urania]]
| [[Ancient Greek astronomy|Astronomy]] ([[Christian poetry]] in later times)<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Dolloff |first1=Matthew |title=Mediating the muse : Milton and the metamorphoses of Urania |journal=The University of Texas Libraries |date=August 2006 |pages=14 |url=https://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/4538a78e-3f82-4b4a-a192-3abaa8ebe0e5/content |access-date=6 November 2024}}</ref>
| [[Globe]] and [[Compass (drafting)|compass]]<ref>{{cite web |last1=Goltzius |first1=Hendrik |year=1592 |title=Urania, the muse of astronomy |website=[[Art Institute of Chicago]] |url=https://www.artic.edu/artworks/267830/urania-the-muse-of-astronomy-from-the-nine-muses |access-date=7 November 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Atsma |first1=Aaron |title=Urania |website=Theoi |publisher=Theoi Project |url=https://www.theoi.com/Ouranios/MousaOurania.html |access-date=7 November 2024}}</ref>
|}

Some Greek writers give the names of the nine Muses as [[Kallichore (mythology)|Kallichore]], [[Helike (mythology)|Helike]], Eunike, [[Thelxinoë]], Terpsichore, Euterpe, Eukelade, [[Dia (mythology)|Dia]], and Enope.<ref>{{cite book |author-link=John Tzetzes |first=J. |last=Tzetzes |title=Scholia in Hesiodi Opera |at=1,23 }}</ref>{{full citation|date=July 2025}}

In [[Renaissance]] and [[Neoclassicism|Neoclassical]] art, the dissemination of [[emblem book]]s such as [[Cesare Ripa]]'s ''Iconologia'' (1593 and many further editions) helped standardize the depiction of the Muses in sculpture and painting, so they could be distinguished by certain props. These props, or [[emblem]]s, became readily identifiable by the viewer, enabling one immediately to recognize the muse and the art with which she had become associated. Here again, Calliope (epic poetry) carries a writing tablet; Clio (history) carries a scroll and books; Euterpe (song and elegiac poetry) carries a double-pipe, the ''[[aulos]]''; Erato (lyric poetry) is often seen with a lyre and a crown of roses; Melpomene (tragedy) is often seen with a tragic mask; Polyhymnia (sacred songs) is often seen with a pensive expression; Terpsichore (chorus dancing and choral song) is often seen dancing and carrying a lyre; Thalia (comedy) is often seen with a comic mask; and Urania (astronomy) carries a pair of compasses and the celestial globe.

==Functions==

===In society===
[[File:Eustache Le Sueur - The Muses - Clio, Euterpe and Thalia - WGA12611.jpg|thumb|''[[Clio]], [[Euterpe]], and [[Thalia (muse)|Thalia]]'', by [[Eustache Le Sueur]], c. 1652–1655|left]]

The Greek word {{Lang|grc-latn|mousa}} is a common noun as well as a type of goddess: it literally means 'art' or 'poetry'. According to [[Pindar]], to "carry a {{Lang|grc-latn|mousa}}" is 'to excel in the arts'. The word derives from the [[Indo-European]] root {{Lang|ine-x-proto|men-}}, which is also the source of [[Greek language|Greek]] ''[[Mnemosyne]]'' and {{Lang|grc-latn|mania}}, [[English language|English]] ''mind'', ''mental'' and ''monitor'', [[Sanskrit]] ''[[mantra]]'' and [[Avestan]] {{Lang|ae-latn|Mazda}}.<ref>Calvert Watkins, ed., The American Heritage Dictionary of Indo-European Roots, 3d ed., p. 56.</ref>

[[File:Le Sueur, Eustache - Melpomène, Érato et Polymnie - 1652 - 1655.jpg|thumb|''[[Melpomene]], [[Erato]], and [[Polyhymnia]]'', by Eustache Le Sueur, c. 1652–1655]]

The Muses, therefore, were both the embodiments and sponsors of performed metrical speech: {{Lang|grc-latn|mousike}} (whence the English term ''music'') was just "one of the arts of the Muses". Others included science, geography, mathematics, philosophy, and especially art, drama, and inspiration. In the archaic period, before the widespread availability of books (scrolls), this included nearly all of learning. The first Greek book on astronomy, by [[Thales]], took the form of [[dactylic hexameter]]s, as did many works of [[pre-Socratic]] philosophy. Both [[Plato]] and the [[Pythagoras|Pythagoreans]] explicitly included philosophy as a sub-species of {{Lang|grc-latn|mousike}}.<ref>[[Strabo]] 10.3.10.</ref> The ''Histories'' of [[Herodotus]], whose primary [[Medium (art)|medium]] of delivery was public recitation, were divided by Alexandrian editors into nine books, named after the nine Muses.

For poet and "law-giver" [[Solon]],<ref>Solon, fragment 13.</ref> the Muses were "the key to the good life"; since they brought both prosperity and friendship. Solon sought to perpetuate his political reforms by establishing recitations of his poetry—complete with invocations to his practical-minded Muses—by Athenian boys at festivals each year. He believed that the Muses would help inspire people to do their best.

===In literature===
[[File:Musas01.jpg|thumb|upright|''Melpomene and Polyhymnia'', [[Palacio de Bellas Artes]], Mexico]]

Ancient authors and some later authors and artists [[invocation|invoke]] Muses when writing poetry, hymns or epic history. Ancient authors invocations often occur near the beginning of their work. It asks for help or inspiration from the Muses, or simply invites the Muse to sing directly through the author.

Originally, the invocation of the Muse was an indication that the speaker was working inside the poetic tradition, according to the established formulas. For example:

<blockquote>These things declare to me from the beginning,

ye Muses who dwell in the house of Olympus,

and tell me which of them first came to be.

— [[Hesiod]] (c. 700 BCE), ''[[Theogony]]'' (Hugh G. Evelyn-White translation, 2015)

Sing to me of the man, Muse, the man of twists and turns

driven time and again off course, once he had plundered

the hallowed heights of Troy.
:—[[Homer]] (c. 700 - 600 BCE), in Book I of ''[[Odyssey|The Odyssey]]'' ([[Robert Fagles]] translation, 1996)</blockquote>

<blockquote>O Muse! the causes and the crimes relate;
What goddess was provok'd, and whence her hate;

For what offence the Queen of Heav'n began

To persecute so brave, so just a man; [...] 
:—[[Virgil]] (c. 29 - 19 BCE), in Book I of the ''[[Aeneid]]'' ([[John Dryden]] translation, 1697)</blockquote>

Besides Homer and Virgil, other famous works that included an invocation of the Muse are the first of the ''carmina'' by [[Catullus]], [[Ovid]]'s ''[[Metamorphoses]]'' and ''[[Amores (Ovid)|Amores]]'', [[Dante Alighieri|Dante]]'s ''[[The Divine Comedy#Inferno|Inferno]]'' (Canto II), [[Geoffrey Chaucer|Chaucer's]] ''[[Troilus and Criseyde]]'' (Book II), [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare's]] ''[[Henry V (play)|Henry V]]'' (Act 1, Prologue), his 38th [[Shakespeare's sonnets|sonnet]], and [[John Milton|Milton's]] ''[[Paradise Lost]]'' (openings of Books 1 and 7).
<!--
Modern invocations of the Muses have appeared in a variety of literary and adult video sources. The Muses are [[Burlesque|burlesqued]] in the 1980 feature film ''[[Xanadu (film)|Xanadu]]'' (and its 2007 [[Xanadu (musical)|Broadway musical adaptation]]), which place Terpsichore and Clio, respectively, in the leading role under the pseudonym "Kira". The Muses were also reduced to five in the 1997 Disney film ''Hercules'', and narrated the story through gospel music. Those five were Clio, Thalia, Melpomene, Calliope, and Terpischore.
-->

===In cults and modern museums===
[[File:Car of history.jpg|thumb|upright|The ''Car of History'', a [[chariot clock]] by Carlo Franzoni, 1819, depicting Clio (housed in the [[National Statuary Hall Collection]] of the [[United States Capitol]])]]
When [[Pythagoras]] arrived at [[Crotone|Croton]], his first advice to the Crotoniates was to build a shrine to the Muses at the center of the city, to promote civic harmony and learning. Local cults of the Muses often became associated with springs or with fountains. The Muses were sometimes called Aganippides, a name derived from the sacred spring [[Aganippe]] at the foot of [[Mount Helicon]], whose waters were believed to grant inspiration.<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0064:entry=helicon-geo Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854), Helicon]</ref> Other fountains, [[Hippocrene]] and [[Pirene (fountain)|Pirene]], were also important locations associated with the Muses. Some sources occasionally referred to the Muses as "Corycides" (or "Corycian [[nymph]]s") after a cave on [[Parnassos|Mount Parnassos]], called the [[Corycian Cave]]. [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]] referred to the Muses by the surnames "Ardalides" or "Ardaliotides", because of a sanctuary to them at [[Troezen]] said to have been built by the mythical [[Ardalus]].

The Muses were venerated especially in [[Boeotia]], in the [[Valley of the Muses]] near [[Mount Helicon|Helicon]], and in [[Delphi]] and the [[Parnassus]], where Apollo became known as {{Lang|grc-latn|Mousēgetēs}} ('Muse-leader') after the sites were rededicated to his cult.

Often Muse-worship was associated with the [[Greek hero cult|hero-cults]] of poets: the tombs of [[Archilochus]] on [[Thasos]] and of [[Hesiod]] and [[Thamyris]] in [[Boeotia]] all played host to festivals in which poetic recitations accompanied sacrifices to the Muses. The [[Library of Alexandria]] and its circle of scholars formed around a {{Lang|grc-latn|mousaion}} (i.e., '[[museum]]' or shrine of the Muses) close to the tomb of [[Alexander the Great]]. Many [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]] figures sought to re-establish a "Cult of the Muses" in the 18th century. A famous [[Freemasonry|Masonic]] lodge in pre-Revolutionary [[Paris, France|Paris]] was called [[Les Neuf Soeurs]] ('The Nine Sisters', that is, the Nine Muses); [[Voltaire]], [[Benjamin Franklin]], [[Georges Danton|Danton]], and other influential Enlightenment figures attended it. As a side-effect of this movement the word ''museum'' (originally, 'cult place of the Muses') came to refer to a place for the public display of knowledge.

Museia (Μούσεια) was a festival dedicated to Muses which was held every fifth year on the lower slopes of [[Mount Helicon]] in [[Boeotia]]. There was also another festival which was called Museia, which was celebrated in schools.<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0063%3Aalphabetic+letter%3DM%3Aentry+group%3D3%3Aentry%3Dmusea-cn A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities (1890), William Smith, LLD, William Wayte, G. E. Marindin, Ed., Museia]</ref>

=== Places named after the Muses ===
In [[New Orleans]], Louisiana, there are streets named for all nine. It is commonly held that the local pronunciation of the names has been colorfully anglicized in an unusual manner by the [[New Orleans English|"Yat"]] dialect. The pronunciations are actually in line with the French, Spanish, and Creole roots of the city.<ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/WbICHD5LZCc Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20190530100731/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbICHD5LZCc Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbICHD5LZCc|title=How to pronounce New Orleans Muses Streets|last=NOLA.com|date=10 November 2016 |via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

== Modern use in the arts ==
{{Expand section|date=January 2022|reason=this section could be greatly expanded, and probably merits its own article.}}<!--See {{ill|Muse (inspiration)|fr|Muse (inspiration)|de|Muse (Beziehung)|ru|Муза (источник вдохновения)}}-->

{{further|Muse (source of inspiration)}}
The Muses are explicitly used in modern English to refer to an artistic inspiration,<ref>{{OED|muse|id=124057}} Mainly 1b, 2</ref> as when one cites one's own artistic muse, and also implicit in words and phrases such as ''amuse'', ''museum'' (Latinised from {{Lang|grc-latn|mouseion}}—a place where the Muses were worshipped), ''music'', and ''musing upon''.<ref>''[[OED]]'' derives "amuse" from French ''a-'' ("from") and ''muser'', "to stare stupidly or distractedly".</ref> In current literature, the influential role that the Muse plays has been extended to the political sphere.<ref>Sorkin, Adam J. (1989) [https://books.google.com/books?id=Avf8SaqIAUIC ''Politics and the Muse. Studies in the Politics of Recent American Literature.''] Bowling Green State University Popular Press, Bowling Green OH.</ref>

== Gallery ==
<gallery mode="packed">
File:Terpsichore - Jean-Marc Nattier.jpg|[[Terpsichore]]
File:Erato.jpg|[[Erato]]
File:Follower of Guido Reni - Clio, Muse of History.jpg|[[Clio]]
File:Thalia MET ap74.48.jpg|[[Thalia (Muse)|Thalia]]
File:Muse of cortona.png|[[Polyhymnia]]
File:Calliope.jpg|[[Calliope]]
File:Antonio Zucchi - Apollo and the Muses, 1767.jpg|[[Apollo and the Muses]]
File:Johann Heinrich Tischbein - The Nine Muses - Euterpe (Music), 1782.jpg|[[Euterpe]]
File:Simon Vouet - Parnassus or Apollo and the Muses (detail) - WGA25374.jpg|[[Parnassus]]
File:Uranie et Melpomène - 1680-1681 Louis de Boullogne.jpg|[[Urania]] and [[Melpomene]]
</gallery>

== Genealogy ==

{{chart top|The Muses's family tree, according to Hesiod's ''Theogony''<ref>[[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hes.+Th.+132 132&ndash;138], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hes.+Th.+337 337&ndash;411], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hes.+Th.+453 453&ndash;520], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hes.+Th.+901 901&ndash;906, 915&ndash;920]; Caldwell, pp. 8&ndash;11, tables 11&ndash;14.</ref>|collapsed=no}}
{{tree chart/start}}
{{tree chart|}}
{{tree chart| | | | | | | | | | | |URA |y|GAI |~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|y|PON|URA=[[Uranus (mythology)|Uranus]]|GAI=[[Gaia]]|PON=[[Pontus (mythology)|Pontus]]}}
{{tree chart|,|-|v|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|-|-|v|-|^|-|v|-|-|-|-|-|-|.| | | |!}}
{{tree chart|!|OCE |y|TET | | | |HYP |y|THE | | | | |CRI |y|EUR|OCE=[[Oceanus]]|TET=[[Tethys (mythology)|Tethys]]|HYP=[[Hyperion (mythology)|Hyperion]]|THE=[[Theia]]|CRI=[[Crius]]|EUR=[[Eurybia (mythology)|Eurybia]]}}
{{tree chart|!| |,|-|^|-|.| | | |,|-|-|-|+|-|-|-|.| | | |,|-|-|^|v|-|-|-|.}}
{{tree chart|!|RIV | |OCE | |HEL | |SEL | |EOS | |AST | |PAL | |PER |RIV=<small>The&nbsp;[[River gods (Greek mythology)|Rivers]]</small>|OCE=<small>The&nbsp;[[Oceanids]]</small>|HEL=[[Helios]]|SEL=[[Selene]]<ref>Although usually the daughter of Hyperion and Theia, as in [[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hes.+Th.+371 371&ndash;374], in the ''[[Homeric Hymns|Homeric Hymn]] to Hermes'' (4), [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=HH+4+99&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0138 99&ndash;100], Selene is instead made the daughter of Pallas the son of Megamedes.</ref>|EOS=[[Eos]]|AST=[[Astraeus]]|PAL=[[Pallas (Titan)|Pallas]]|PER=[[Perses (Titan)|Perses]]}}
{{tree chart|!| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |}}
{{tree chart|)|-|-|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|.| | | |}}
{{tree chart|!| | | | |CRO |y|RHE | | | | | | | |COE |y|PHO | | |COE=[[Coeus]]|PHO=[[Phoebe (Titaness)|Phoebe]]|CRO=[[Cronus]]|RHE=[[Rhea (mythology)|Rhea]]}}
{{tree chart|!| |,|-|v|-|v|-|^|-|v|-|v|-|.| | | | | |,|-|^|-|.| | | }}
{{tree chart|!|HES |!|HER | |HAD |!|ZEU | | | |LET | |AST | |HES=[[Hestia]]|HER=[[Hera]]|HAD=[[Hades]]|ZEU=[[Zeus]]|LET=[[Leto]]|AST=[[Asteria]]}}
{{tree chart|!| | | |!| | | | | | | |!| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |}}
{{tree chart|!| | |DEM | | | | | |POS | | | | | | | | | | | | | |DEM=[[Demeter]]|POS=[[Poseidon]]}}
{{tree chart|!| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |}}
{{tree chart|`|-|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|.}}
{{tree chart| | | | |IAP |y|CLY | | | | | |MNE |~|y|~|ZEU |~|y|~|THE |IAP=[[Iapetus (mythology)|Iapetus]]|CLY=[[Clymene (wife of Iapetus)|Clymene]]&nbsp;(or&nbsp;[[Asia (Oceanid)|Asia]])<ref>According to [[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hes.+Th.+507 507&ndash;511], Clymene, one of the [[Oceanid]]s, the daughters of [[Oceanus]] and [[Tethys (mythology)|Tethys]], at [[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hes.+Th.+351 351], was the mother by Iapetus of Atlas, Menoetius, Prometheus, and Epimetheus, while according to [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022%3Atext%3DLibrary%3Abook%3D1%3Achapter%3D2%3Asection%3D3 1.2.3], another Oceanid, Asia was their mother by Iapetus.</ref>|MNE=[[Mnemosyne]]|ZEU=(Zeus)|THE=[[Themis]]}}
{{tree chart| |,|-|-|-|v|-|^|-|v|-|-|-|.| | | | | | |!| | | | | |!}}
{{tree chart|ATL | |MEN | |PRO | |EPI | | | | | | ! | | | | |HOR |ATL=[[Atlas (mythology)|Atlas]]<ref>According to [[Plato]], ''[[Critias (dialogue)|Critias]]'', [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0059.tlg032.perseus-eng1:113d 113d&ndash;114a], Atlas was the son of [[Poseidon]] and the mortal [[Cleito]].</ref>|MEN=[[Menoetius (Greek mythology)|Menoetius]]|PRO=[[Prometheus]]<ref>In [[Aeschylus]], ''[[Prometheus Bound]]'' 18, 211, 873 (Sommerstein, pp. [http://www.loebclassics.com/view/aeschylus-prometheus_bound/2009/pb_LCL145.445.xml 444&ndash;445 n. 2], [http://www.loebclassics.com/view/aeschylus-prometheus_bound/2009/pb_LCL145.467.xml 446&ndash;447 n. 24], [http://www.loebclassics.com/view/aeschylus-prometheus_bound/2009/pb_LCL145.539.xml 538&ndash;539 n. 113]) Prometheus is made to be the son of [[Themis]].</ref>|EPI=[[Epimetheus (mythology)|Epimetheus]]|HOR=<small>The&nbsp;[[Horae]]</small>}}
{{tree chart| | | | | | | | | | | | |,|-|v|-|v|-|v|-|+|-|v|-|v|-|v|-|.}}
{{tree chart| | | | | | | | | | | |CLE|!|THAL|!|TERP|!|POL|!|CAL|CLE='''[[Clio|CLIO]]'''|THAL='''[[Thalia (Muse)|THALIA]]'''|TERP='''[[Terpsichore|TERPSICHORE]]'''|POL='''[[Polyhymnia|POLYHYMNIA]]'''|CAL='''[[Calliope|CALLIOPE]]'''}}
{{tree chart| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |!| | | |!| | | |! | | | |!| | |}}
{{tree chart| | | | | | | | | | | | | |EUT | |MEL | |ERA | |URA | | | | |EUT='''[[Euterpe|EUTERPE]]'''|MEL='''[[Melpomene|MELPOMENE]]'''|ERA='''[[Erato|ERATO]]'''|URA='''[[Urania|URANIA]]'''}}
{{tree chart/end}}
{{chart bottom}}

==See also==
* [[Apsara]]
* [[Artistic inspiration]]
* [[Divine inspiration]]
* [[Leibethra]]
* [[Pimpleia]]
* [[Saraswati]]
* [[Muses in popular culture]]

==Notes==
<!--<nowiki>
See [[Wikipedia:Footnotes]] for an explanation of how to generate footnotes using the <ref> and </ref> tags, and the template below.
</nowiki>-->
{{Reflist|30em}}

== References ==
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Muses, The|volume=19|pages=59–60}}
* Grimal, Pierre, ''The Dictionary of Classical Mythology'', Wiley-Blackwell, 1996. {{ISBN|978-0-631-20102-1}}. [https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofclas0000grim/page/n3/mode/2up?view=theater Internet Archive].
*{{Cite book|last=West|first=Martin L.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZXrJA_5LKlYC|title=Indo-European Poetry and Myth|date=2007|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|isbn=978-0-19-928075-9|language=en|author-link=Martin Litchfield West}}

==External links==
{{NSRW Poster|Muses}}
{{wiktionary|Muse#English|Muse}}
{{commons category|Muses}}
{{wikiquote}}
* [http://ancientrome.ru/art/artworken/result.htm?alt=Muses Muses in ancient art]; ancientrome.ru
* [https://iconographic.warburg.sas.ac.uk/category/vpc-taxonomy-000129 Warburg Institute Iconographic Database (ca 1,000 images of the Muses)]

{{Muses}}
{{Greek religion}}
{{Greek mythology (deities)}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Music and singing goddesses]]
[[Category:Wisdom goddesses]]
[[Category:Muses (mythology)| ]]
[[Category:Arts goddesses]]
[[Category:Dance goddesses]]
[[Category:Knowledge goddesses]]
[[Category:Greek goddesses]]
[[Category:Musicians in Greek mythology]]
[[Category:Olympian deities]]
[[Category:Dance in Greek mythology]]