The work of any great musician or artist cannot be imagined without the presence of a muse that inspires him. So, Raphael created his immortal works when Fornarina was next to him, Michelangelo admired Vittoria Colonna, and Sandro Botticelli immortalized the beauty of Simonetta Vespucci. Today we propose to talk about the muses of Ancient Greece, a list and description of which will be given in our article.
Who are the Muses
The inhabitants of Hellas believed that every sphere of life has its patroness. The Muses not only symbolized the hidden virtues of human nature, but also contributed to their manifestation. According to classical mythology, the supreme god Zeus and the daughter of the titans Mnemosyne became the parents of nine daughters. Mnemosyne was the goddess of memory, and her 9 daughters became known as the Muses, which in Greek means "thinking". The ancient Greeks believed that these amazing creatures live on Mount Parnassus, where they dance and sing to the sounds of Apollo's lyre.
Clio
This muse of Ancient Greece appeared everywhere with a parchment scroll or a board with writing. She recorded all the events that took place in order to save them for posterity. It was about her that the ancient Greek historian Diodorus wrote:
The greatest of muses inspires love for the past.
The myth of the conflict that occurred between Clio and the goddess Aphrodite has survived to our times. The patroness of history was not familiar with such a feeling as love, and therefore condemned the goddess of beauty, who was the wife of the god Hephaestus, for her tender affection for the young god Dionysus. Aphrodite couldn't stand it. She ordered her son Eros to shoot two arrows, one of which kindled love, and the second killed her. The first arrow hit the muse Clio, the second went to Pieron. After experiencing the suffering of unrequited love, Clea never judged anyone again.
Melpomene
This muse of ancient Greece was associated with tragic events. The two daughters of Melpomene were the owners of magical voices. They decided to challenge other muses, but lost. To punish them, Zeus turned the girls into sirens (the same sirens who almost killed the Argonauts). After these events, Melpomene swore to regret for all eternity about their fate, as well as about the fate of those people who challenge Heaven. Since then, this muse has appeared only in a theatrical robe, and her symbol was a mournful mask, which she holds in her hand. By the way, in the hands of this muse and a sword that punishes insolence.
Waist
Muse of Ancient Greece Thalia was the patroness of comedies. She never accepted her sister Melpomene's belief that punishment is always inevitable. That is why there were often disagreements between the sisters. Thalia is usually depicted with an ivy wreath on her head and with a comedic mask in her hands. This muse is characterized by optimism and cheerfulness. Thalia and Melpomene were a kind of reflection of the way of thinking of the Greeks, who believed that the world is just a theater of the gods, where people get only the performance of their assigned roles.
Polyhymnia
She was considered the patroness of orators. The inhabitants of Hellas called her the muse of faith, who managed to find reflection in music. The ardor of the speaker's speeches and the interest of the listeners depended on the favor of this particular creature. Before the performance, it was necessary to ask Polyhymnia for help. Then she condescended to the suppliant and endowed him with the gift of eloquence. The main attribute of this daughter of Zeus was the lyre.
Euterpe
The muse of poetry and lyrics differed from her sisters in her incredibly subtle perception of poetry. When she read her poems to the gods of Olympus, she was accompanied by Orpheus himself. For him, this beautiful and feminine muse of ancient Greece has become a real savior of the soul. Usually Euterpe was depicted surrounded by forest nymphs, and her attributes were a wreath of fresh flowers and a flute.
Terpsichore
The inhabitants of Hellas called her the muse of dance, which is performed in the same rhythm with heartbeats. The perfection of this art of the ancient Greek muse symbolized absolute harmonyhuman movements and emotions with nature. Terpsichore was usually depicted in a light tunic with a lyre in her hands. The head of the muse was decorated with an ivy wreath.
Erato
The description of the muse of Ancient Greece named Erato says that she patronizes love poetry. The song that this muse sings tells that there is no force that could separate two hearts that love each other. Poets called for this muse to help when the source of their inspiration dried up. What does Erato look like? Usually she was depicted with a tambourine or a lyre in her hands, on her head was a wreath of roses, symbolizing endless love.
Calliope
The name of this muse can be translated as "beautiful voice", and therefore it is quite obvious that she was the patroness of poetry, however, not lyrical, but epic. Calliope was the eldest of the nine daughters of Mnemosyne and Zeus. The Greeks usually portrayed the beautiful muse in the pose of a dreamer, in whose hands was a wax tablet and a stylus with which she wrote.
Urania
The ninth muse of ancient Greece was rightfully considered the wise by the inhabitants of Hellas. In her hands she held a globe and a compass. By the way, the name of this muse was given in honor of the god of heaven Uranus, who was known long before Zeus. It may seem strange that the patroness of science is associated with the muses. However, Pythagoras compared the dimensional ratios of the sounds of music with the distances separating the heavenly bodies. That is, this scientist argued that it is almost impossible to achieve harmony in one, without knowingother.
