MUSAE
The Muses from Greek Mythology
The
Muses are the Greek goddesses who preside over the arts and sciences
and inspire those who excel at these pursuits. Daughters of Zeus, king
of the gods, and Mnemosyne ("memory"), they were born at Pieria at the
foot of Mount Olympus. Their nurse, Eupheme, raised them along with her
son, Crotus the hunter, who was transported into the sky as Sagittarius
upon his death. Their name (akin to the Latin mens and English mind)
denotes ‘memory’ or ‘a reminder’, since in the
earliest times poets, having no books to read from, relied on their
memories. The Romans identified the Muses with certain obscure Italian
water-goddesses, the Camenae.
The original number of Muses and their names varies in earlier times as
their evolution blossomed in Greek mythology. At first, three Muses
were worshiped on Mount Helicon in Boeotia: Melete ("meditation"),
Mneme ("memory"), and Aoede ("song"). Another three were worshipped at
Delphi and their names represented the names of the strings of a lyre:
Nete, Mese, and Hypate. Several other versions were worshipped until
the Greeks finally established the nine Muses in mythology as:
Calliope, Clio, Erato, Euterpe, Melpomene, Polyhymnia, Thalia, and
Urania. The Muses had several epithets which usually referred to places
where they had settled.
Ephialtes and Otus, who also founded Ascra, were the first to sacrifice
on Helicon to the Muses and to call the mountain sacred to the Muses.
Sacrifice to the Muses consisted of libations of water, milk, or honey.
The often companions to the Muses are the Charities, the Horae, Eros,
Dionysus, Apollo, Aphrodite, Harmonia, and Himerus (Desire). Apollo is
the leader of the choir of the Muses and consequently he has the
surname Musagetes. Athena caught and tamed the winged horse Pegasus and
gave him to the Muses. Some of their disciples included the Sphinx who
learned her riddle from the Muses, Aristaeus, who learned the arts of
healing and prophecy from them, and Echo, who was taught by them to
play music.
In Plato’s Phaedrus, Socrates says the locusts used to be men
before the birth of the Muses. When song appeared when the Muses were
born, some men were so overcome with delight that they sang constantly,
forgetting to eat and drink until they eventually died. These dead men
became locusts with a gift from the Muses allowing them to sing
continuously from their birth until death without the need of
sustenance. When they die, the locust go to the Muses and report which
men on earth honors each, endearing a worshipper to the Muse he follows.
The Muses could be vindictive like in the story of the contest with
Thamyris. Thamyris who excelled in minstrelsy challenged the Muses to a
musical contest at Dorium in Messenia, the agreement being if he won he
would take pleasure from all of them. The Muses won the contest, and
bereft Thamyris of his eyes and minstrelsy.
In another story, the king of Emathia (Macedonia) and his wife Euippe
had nine daughters and named them after the Muses. The daughters
entered a contest with the Muses, were defeated and were metamorphosed
by the Muses into birds called Colymbas, Iynx, Cenchris, Cissa,
Chloris, Acalanthis, Nessa, Pipo, and Dracontis. These names were taken
from actual names of birds such as the wryneck, hawk, jay, duck,
goldfinch, and four others with no recognizable modern equivalents.
In yet another myth, it was said Hera, queen of the gods, persuaded the
Sirens, who were described in early Greek mythology as having the
bodies of birds and heads of beautiful women, to enter a singing
contest with the Muses. The Muses won the competition and then plucked
out all of the Sirens’ feathers and made crowns out of them.
Many places were dedicated to the Muses such as the famous Valley of
the Muses - Thespies on the eastern slopes of Mount Helicon began
it’s "Mouseai" festivals in the sixth century before the common
era. It was organized every five years by the Thespians. Poets and
musicians from all over Greece also participated in various games
(epic, poetry, rapsodia, kithara, aulos, satyric poetry, tragedy and
comedy). It was common for ancient schools to have a shrine to the
Muses called mouseion, the source of the modern word
‘museum’.
The famous Museum of Alexandria, founded by Ptolemy I, was a temple
dedicated to the Muses. Before poets or storytellers recited their
work, it was customary for them to invoke the inspiration and
protection of the Muses. The Muses delighted in feasts and the pleasure
of song. They discovered letters and the combination of these we call
poetry. Near the topmost peak of Olympus there are their
dancing-places, and beside them the Charites and Himerus live in
delight.
Dearest gods . . .
Apollo is considered to lead the Muses and for that reason he is called Musegetes (leader of the Muses) as an inscription says:
"This is Leto’s son, prince Apollo, far-shooting; around him are the
Muses, a graceful choir, whom he is leading . . ."
But some say that Hypnos (Sleep) is the god that is dearest to the Muses.
The number of the Muses . . .
The Aloads said that the Muses were three: Aoede, Melete, and Mneme;
but, as it is told, Pierus the Macedonian, established nine Muses and
changed their names. It is not known if Pierus did these changes
because they seemed to him wiser, or if he followed an oracle, or if he
had learned so from the Thracians. The Muses are sometimes called
Pierides, but otherwise these were nine sisters, daughters of Pierus,
who defied the Muses in a contest of song and, having been defeated,
were turned into magpies, greenfinches, goldfinches, ducks and other
birds.
Inspired but blind . . .
Thamyris, who was an excellent minstrel and the first man to become
enamoured of males, engaged in a musical contest with the Muses in
Dorium, but he lost and they took his eyes and minstrelsy. But others
say that, for his boast against the Muses, he was first punished in
Hades.
Blind but inspired . . .
Demodocus, a minstrel from Phaeacia, who sang when Odtsseus was in that
island had received the gift of song from the Muses, who, at the same
time, deprived him of his sight.
The Sirens lose their feathers . . .
The Sirens, were daughters of one of the Muses, but it is also told
that the Sirens competed with the Muses in singing and, having lost,
the Muses plucked out the Sirens feathers and made, out of them, crowns
for themselves.
Flying goddesses . . .
King Pyreneus of Daulis attempted to rape the Muses but perished when
he leapt from the pinnacle of a tower trying to follow the flying Muses
who escaped him.
Some related to the Muses . . .
A companion of the Muses is Crotus, a hunter; his mother Eupheme, was
the nurse of the Muses. Among the disciples of the Muses is the Sphinx,
who learned her riddle from them, Aristaeus, who learned from the Muses
the arts of healing and of prophecy, and the nymph Echo, who was taught
to play music. Also Musaeus, perhaps Orpheus’ son, was trained by
the Muses.
Two performances among mortals . . .
The Muses sing usually for the gods, but they are said to have sung in
other special occasions such as the funeral of Achilles and the wedding
of Cadmus & Harmonia.
Army with musical taste . . .
In Lacedaemonia they had a special sanctuary of the Muses, because the
Lacedaemonians went to war following, not the sound of a trumpet, but
the music of the flute, lyre and harp. There are four versions of
"Parentage" for the Muses. These are: 1) Uranus & Gaia, 2) Pierus
& unknown, 3) Zeus & unknown, and 4) Zeus & Mnemosyne.
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