In ancient Greek mythology, the Muses are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric songs, and myths that were related orally for centuries in ancient Greek culture.
The Roman scholar Varro 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". Plutarch also reports three ancient Muses.
However, the 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: Calliope (epic poetry), Clio (history), Euterpe (flutes and lyric poetry), Thalia (comedy and pastoral poetry), Melpomene (tragedy), Terpsichore (dance), Erato (love poetry), Polyhymnia (sacred poetry) and Urania (astronomy).
However, according to Pausanias, who wrote in the later second century AD, there were originally three Muses, worshiped on Mount Helicon in Boeotia: Aoide ("song" or "tune"), Melete ("practice" or "occasion"), and Mneme ("memory").
Together, these three form the complete picture of the preconditions of poetic art in cult practice.
Poetry (derived from the Greek poiesis, "making") is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language - such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre - to evoke meanings. It uses forms and conventions to suggest differential interpretations of words, or to evoke emotive response.
The Roman scholar Varro 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". Plutarch also reports three ancient Muses.
However, the 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: Calliope (epic poetry), Clio (history), Euterpe (flutes and lyric poetry), Thalia (comedy and pastoral poetry), Melpomene (tragedy), Terpsichore (dance), Erato (love poetry), Polyhymnia (sacred poetry) and Urania (astronomy).
However, according to Pausanias, who wrote in the later second century AD, there were originally three Muses, worshiped on Mount Helicon in Boeotia: Aoide ("song" or "tune"), Melete ("practice" or "occasion"), and Mneme ("memory").
Together, these three form the complete picture of the preconditions of poetic art in cult practice.
Poetry (derived from the Greek poiesis, "making") is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language - such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre - to evoke meanings. It uses forms and conventions to suggest differential interpretations of words, or to evoke emotive response.
Western cultural tradition (which extends at least from Homer to Rilke) associates the production of poetry with
INSPIRATION – often by a Muse (either classical or contemporary).
INSPIRATION – often by a Muse (either classical or contemporary).