The Nine Muses

The nine muses are the daughters of Zeus and Titan goddess Mnemosyne (of “memory”) who lived on Mount Helicon where they cultivated their creative gifts near the streams and geysers made by the hoof of winged horse Pegasus. Those streams and lakes, created by the hoof, were said to endow anyone who drunk from them with unlimited creative potential, intellectual curiosity and prophetic insight. In this environment, Mnemosyne taught her daughters various arts and trained their voices, and they later danced and sang at parties held by gods and heroes. The daughters are Calliope (Epic Poetry), Melpomene (Tragic Drama), Thalia (Comedy), Terpsichore (Dance), Clio (History), Erato (Lyric Poetry), Euterpe (Music), Polyhymnia (Mime & Sacred Lyrics), and Urania (Astronomy). All of them brought artistic inspiration to mortals, igniting the human spirit to explore and express the arts, and the word “museum” is from Greek “mouseion”, meaning a sacred shrine built to honour the muses, that now refers to a building that houses all things art. The Parnassus [1497] by Andrea Mantegna, Louvre Museum Andrea Mantegna was an Italian Renaissance painter who experimented with perspectives and worked ...