Muses

Goddesses who inspired men and women; they were proficient in arts, literature and science.

According to the Boeotians, there were originally three daughters, possibly of Uranus and Gaea:

• Aoide - "song"

• Melete - "meditation" or "practice"

• Mneme - "memory"

The Boeotian version said that the Muses lived at Mount Helicon, while the later version said that the Muses' home was near Mount Olympus, in Peiria, Macedon. They were first worshipped by the Aloadae, the twin giants named Otus and Ephialtes, at Mount Helicon (in Boeotia) which was reputably the place they were born.

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The later and more popular version said that the Muses were the nine daughters of Zeus and the Titaness Mnemosyne ("Memory"), and were sometimes known as Camenae. Zeus had slept with their mother for nine consecutive nights so that Mnemosyne could bear nine daughters. They were born and resided in and around Peiria.

The Muses presided over arts and science:

Calliope	Καλλιόπη	"epic poetry"
Cleio	Κλειω	"history"
Erato	Ἐρατώ	"love poetry"
Euterpe	Ευτερπη	"lyric poetry"
Melpomene	Μελπομένη	"tragedy"
Polyhymnia or Polhymnia	Πολύμνια	"sacred poetry"
Terpsichore	Τερψιχόρη	"choral songs" and the "dance"
Thaleia	Θαλία	"comedy"
Urania	Οὔρανια	"astronomy"

The Muses were known for skill in dancing and music, particularly in singing. They were normally seen around Apollo, the god of music in Olympus.

Calliope was probably the most famous of the Muses. Not only was she the eldest sister and their leader, Calliope was also the mother of two great musicians, Orpheus and Linus, either by Apollo or by the Thracian king named Oeagus, the son of Pierus.

Alternately, in an unknown fragment, one line said that Linus was the son of Urania, Calliope's sister, while in the Contest of Homer and Hesiod Linus was the son of Apollo and Aethusa, daughter of Poseidon.

Linus tried to teach the young Heracles, but the musician struck the young hero for his poor performance. Heracles struck back with his lyre, instantly killing Linus. Heracles was acquitted of murder because it was Linus who struck his pupil first.

The Muses were said to have brought up Orpheus the musician, and one of the Argonauts. They taught him singing while Apollo probably taught him the lyre. The maenads, women followers of Dionysus, tore Orpheus to pieces. The Muses mourned for Orpheus' death.

They sang at the wedding of Cadmus and Harmonia, as well as at Achilles' funeral.

They were sometimes quite vindictive when challenged by mortal musicians. They blinded Thamyris for his boasting and challenging them. They turned the daughters of Pierus into magpies for challenging them in a contest.

They also blinded the Phaeacian bard named Demodocus at the court of King Alcinous, in the Odyssey. However, the Muses compensated him by giving Demodocus the gift of song, for taking away his sight.