According to myth, after the gods of Olympus
defeated the Titans, they asked Zeus (king of
the gods) to create a group of new divinities
whose task would be to sing the praises of that
great victory. After Zeus coupled with Mnemo-
syne ("memory") for nine consecutive nights,
the muses were born at Pieria, at the foot of
Mt.Olympus. Besides being divine singers, each
of the nine muses had a different talent and
was presented with a symbol.


Erato is the muse of love poetry
and mimicry. She is seen with a
lyre and sometimes wears a
crown of roses.
Clio is the muse of history. She
is often seen sitting with a
scroll accompanied by a chest
of books. She introduced the
Phoenician alphabet to Greece.
Terpsichore is the muse of
dance and song. She is often
seen dancing with her lyre.
Polymnia is the muse of sacred
and rhetoric poetry. She has
also been called the muse of
geometry, meditation and agri-
culture. Polymnia is also seen
veiled.

Calliope is the muse of epic poe-
try. Her name means "sweet
voice". She and god Apollo were
the parents of Orpheus, the
great musician.
Urania is the muse of astrono-
my. She is represented with a
staff and a celestial globe.
She can fortell the future by
the position of the stars.

Euterpe is the muse of lyric
poetry. She is represented with
a flute. Her name comes from
the Greek 'Euterpein' meaning "to
please".

Melpomene is the muse of
tragedy in spite her joyous
singing. She is represented by a
tragic mask and is sometimes
seen with a garland, a club
and a sword.
Thalia is the muse of comedy
and of playful and idyllic poetry.
She is represented by a comic
mask and is also seen with a
crown of ivy and a crook.




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