Muses - wikipedia Muses For the English rock band, see Muse ( band ). For other uses, see Muse ( disambiguation ). Muse, perhaps Clio, reading a scroll ( Attic red - figure lekythos, Boeotia, c. 430 BC ) The Muses are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts in Greek mythology. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric songs, and myths that were related orally for centuries in these ancient cultures. They were later adopted by the Romans as a part of their pantheon. In current English usage, `` muse '' can refer in general to a person who inspires an artist, musician, or writer. Contents 1 Etymology 2 Number and names 3 Mythology 4 Emblems 5 Functions 5.1 In society 5.2 Invoking the Muse in literature 5.3 From cults to modern museums 6 Modern use 7 Gallery 8 See also 9 References 10 External links Etymology The Muses / ˈmjuːzɪz / ( Ancient Greek : Μοῦσαι, Moũsai ) perhaps came from the o - grade of the Proto - Indo - European root * men - ( `` to think '' ) or from root * men - ( `` to tower, mountain '' ) since all the most important cult - centres of the Muses were on mountains or hills. Number and names Gustave Moreau : Hesiod and the Muse ( 1891 ) -- Musée d'Orsay, Paris The earliest known records of the Nine Muses are from Boeotia, the homeland of Hesiod. Some ancient authorities thought that the Nine Muses were of Thracian origin. There, a tradition persisted that the Muses had once been three in number. In the first century BC, Diodorus Siculus quotes Hesiod to the contrary, observing : Writers similarly disagree also concerning the number of the Muses ; for some say that there are three, and others that there are nine, but the number nine has prevailed since it rests upon the authority of the most distinguished men, such as Homer and Hesiod and others like them. Diodorus also states ( Book I. 18 ) that Osiris first recruited the nine Muses, along with the Satyrs, while passing through Ethiopia, before embarking on a tour of all Asia and Europe, teaching the arts of cultivation wherever he went. According to Hesiod 's account ( c. 600 BC ), generally followed by the writers of antiquity, the Nine Muses were the nine daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne ( i. e. `` Memory '' personified ), figuring as personifications of knowledge and the arts, especially literature, dance and music. The Roman scholar Varro ( 116 -- 27 BC ) 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 ''. Three ancient Muses were also reported in Plutarch 's ( 46 -- 120 AD ) Quaestiones Convivales ( 9. I4. 2 -- 4 ). 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 was assigned to them, and even then there was some variation in both their names and 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 ), Urania ( astronomy ). The nine Muses on a Roman sarcophagus ( second century AD ) -- Louvre, Paris According to Pausanias in the later second century AD, there were three original Muses, worshiped on Mount Helicon in Boeotia : Aoidḗ ( `` song '' or `` tune '' ), Melétē ( `` practice '' or `` occasion '' ), and Mnḗmē ( `` memory '' ). Together, these three form the complete picture of the preconditions of poetic art in cult practice. In Delphi three Muses were worshiped as well, but with other names : Nḗtē, Mésē, and Hýpatē, which are assigned as the names of the three cords of the ancient musical instrument, the lyre. Alternatively they later were called Kēphisṓ, Apollōnís, and Borysthenís, which names characterize them as daughters of Apollo. In later tradition, a set of four Muses were recognized : Thelxinóē, Aoidḗ Archē, and Melétē, said to be daughters of Zeus and Plusia or of Uranus. One of the people frequently associated with the Muses was Pierus. By some he was called the father ( by a Pimpleian nymph, called Antiope by Cicero ) of a total of seven Muses, called Neilṓ ( Νειλώ ), Tritṓnē ( Τριτώνη ), Asōpṓ ( Ἀσωπώ ), Heptápora ( Ἑπτάπορα ), Achelōís, Tipoplṓ ( Τιποπλώ ), and Rhodía ( Ῥοδία ). Mythology Apollo and the Muses on Mount Helicon ( 1680 ) by Claude Lorrain Thalia, Muse of comedy, holding a comic mask ( detail from the `` Muses Sarcophagus '' ) According to Hesiod 's Theogony ( seventh century BC ), they were daughters of Zeus, the second generation king of the gods, and the offspring of Mnemosyne, goddess of memory. For Alcman and Mimnermus, they were even more primordial, springing from the early deities, Uranus and Gaia. Gaia is Mother Earth, an early mother goddess who was worshipped at Delphi from prehistoric times, long before the site was rededicated to Apollo, possibly indicating a transfer to association with him after that time. Sometimes the Muses are referred to as water nymphs, associated with the springs of Helicon and with Pieris. It was said that the winged horse Pegasus touched his hooves to the ground on Helicon, causing four sacred springs to burst forth, from which the Muses were born. Athena later tamed the horse and presented him to the Muses. ( Compare the Roman inspiring nymphs of springs, the Camenae, the Völva of Norse Mythology and also the apsaras in the mythology of classical India. ) Classical writers set Apollo as their leader, Apollon Mousagetēs ( `` Apollo Muse - leader '' ). In one myth, the Muses judged a contest between Apollo and Marsyas. They also gathered the pieces of the dead body of Orpheus, son of Calliope, and buried them in Leivithra. In a later myth, Thamyris challenged them to a singing contest. They won and punished Thamyris by blinding him and robbing him of his singing ability. According to a myth from Ovid 's Metamorphoses -- alluding to the connection of the Muses with Pieria -- King Pierus, king of Macedon, had nine daughters he named after the nine Muses, believing that their skills were a great match to the Muses. He thus challenged the Muses to a match, resulting in his daughters, the Pierides, being turned into chattering magpies for their presumption. Pausanias records a tradition of two generations of Muses ; the first are the daughters of Uranus and Gaia, the second of Zeus and Mnemosyne. Another, rarer genealogy is that they are daughters of Harmonia ( the daughter of Aphrodite and Ares ), which contradicts the myth in which they were dancing at the wedding of Harmonia and Cadmus. Emblems Polyhymnia, the Muse of sacred poetry, sacred hymn and eloquence as well as agriculture and pantomime. Muse Domain Emblem Calliope Epic poetry Writing tablet, Stylus, Lyre Clio History Scrolls, Books, Cornet, Laurel wreath Euterpe Music, Song, and Lyric Poetry Aulos ( an ancient Greek musical instrument like a flute ), panpipes, laurel wreath Erato Love poetry Cithara ( an ancient Greek musical instrument in the lyre family ) Melpomene Tragedy Tragic mask, Sword ( or any kind of blade ), Club, Kothornos ( boots ) Polyhymnia Hymns Veil, Grapes ( referring to her as an agricultural goddess ) Terpsichore Dance Lyre, Plectrum Thalia Comedy Comic mask, Shepherd 's crook ( the vaudeville act of pulling someone off the stage with a hook is a reference to Thalia 's crook ), Ivy wreath Urania Astronomy Globe and compass Some Greek writers give the names of the nine Muses as Kallichore, Helike, Eunike, Thelxinoë, Terpsichore, Euterpe, Eukelade, Dia, and Enope. In Renaissance and Neoclassical art, the dissemination of emblem books such as Cesare Ripa 's Iconologia ( 1593 and many further editions ) helped standardize the depiction of the Muses in sculpture and painting, so they could be distinguished by certain props. These props, or emblems, became readily identifiable by the viewer, enabling one immediately to recognize the Muse and the art with which she had become associated. Here again, Calliope ( epic poetry ) carries a writing tablet ; Clio ( history ) carries a scroll and books ; Euterpe ( song and elegiac poetry ) carries a flute, the aulos ; Erato ( lyric poetry ) is often seen with a lyre and a crown of roses ; Melpomene ( tragedy ) is often seen with a tragic mask ; Polyhymnia ( sacred poetry ) is often seen with a pensive expression ; Terpsichore ( choral dance and song ) is often seen dancing and carrying a lyre ; Thalia ( comedy ) is often seen with a comic mask ; and Urania ( astronomy ) carries a pair of compasses and the celestial globe. Functions The Muses Clio, Euterpe, and Thalia, by Eustache Le Sueur In society Greek mousa is a common noun as well as a type of goddess : it literally means `` art '' or `` poetry ''. According to Pindar, to `` carry a mousa '' is `` to excel in the arts ''. The word probably derives from the Indo - European root men -, which is also the source of Greek Mnemosyne, English `` mind '', `` mental '' and `` memory '' and Sanskrit `` mantra ''. The Muses, therefore, were both the embodiments and sponsors of performed metrical speech : mousike ( whence the English term `` music '' ) was just `` one of the arts of the Muses ''. Others included Science, Geography, Mathematics, Philosophy, and especially Art, Drama, and inspiration. In the archaic period, before the widespread availability of books ( scrolls ), this included nearly all of learning. The first Greek book on astronomy, by Thales, took the form of dactylic hexameters, as did many works of pre-Socratic philosophy. Both Plato and the Pythagoreans explicitly included philosophy as a sub-species of mousike. The Histories of Herodotus, whose primary medium of delivery was public recitation, were divided by Alexandrian editors into nine books, named after the nine Muses. The Muses Melpomene, Erato, and Polyhymnia, by Eustache Le Sueur For poet and `` law - giver '' Solon, the Muses were `` the key to the good life '' ; since they brought both prosperity and friendship. Solon sought to perpetuate his political reforms by establishing recitations of his poetry -- complete with invocations to his practical - minded Muses -- by Athenian boys at festivals each year. He believed that the Muses would help inspire people to do their best. Invoking the Muse in literature Melpomene and Polyhymnia, Palacio de Bellas Artes, Mexico Ancient authors and their imitators invoke Muses when writing poetry, hymns or epic history. The invocation occurs near the beginning of their work. It asks for help or inspiration from the Muses, or simply invites the Muse to sing directly through the author. Originally, the invocation of the Muse was an indication that the speaker was working inside the poetic tradition, according to the established formulas. For example : Sing to me of the man, Muse, the man of twists and turns driven time and again off course, once he had plundered the hallowed heights of Troy. -- Homer, in Book I of The Odyssey ( Robert Fagles translation, 1996 ) O Muse ! the causes and the crimes relate ; What goddess was provok 'd, and whence her hate ; For what offense the Queen of Heav'n began To persecute so brave, so just a man ; (... ) -- Virgil, in Book I of the Aeneid ( John Dryden translation, 1697 ) Besides Homer and Virgil, other famous works that included an invocation of the Muse are the first of the carmina by Catullus, Ovid 's Metamorphoses and Amores, Dante 's Inferno ( Canto II ), Chaucer 's Troilus and Criseyde ( Book II ), Shakespeare 's Henry V ( Act 1, Prologue ), his 38th sonnet, and Milton 's Paradise Lost ( opening of Book 1 ). From cults to modern museums Chariot clock by Carlo Franzoni, 1819, depicting Clio. When Pythagoras arrived at Croton, his first advice to the Crotoniates was to build a shrine to the Muses at the center of the city, to promote civic harmony and learning. Local cults of the Muses often became associated with springs or with fountains. The Muses themselves were sometimes called Aganippids because of their association with a fountain called Aganippe. Other fountains, Hippocrene and Pirene, were also important locations associated with the Muses. Some sources occasionally referred to the Muses as `` Corycides '' ( or `` Corycian nymphs '' ) after a cave on Mount Parnassos, called the Corycian Cave. The Muses were venerated especially in Boeotia, in the Valley of the Muses near Helicon, and in Delphi and the Parnassus, where Apollo became known as Mousagetes ( `` Muse - leader '' ) after the sites were rededicated to his cult. Often Muse - worship was associated with the hero - cults of poets : the tombs of Archilochus on Thasos and of Hesiod and Thamyris in Boeotia all played host to festivals in which poetic recitations accompanied sacrifices to the Muses. The Library of Alexandria and its circle of scholars formed around a mousaion ( i. e. `` museum '' or shrine of the Muses ) close to the tomb of Alexander the Great. Many Enlightenment figures sought to re-establish a `` Cult of the Muses '' in the 18th century. A famous Masonic lodge in pre-Revolutionary Paris was called Les Neuf Soeurs ( `` The Nine Sisters '', that is, the Nine Muses ) ; Voltaire, Benjamin Franklin, Danton, and other influential Enlightenment figures attended it. As a side - effect of this movement the word `` museum '' ( originally, `` cult place of the Muses '' ) came to refer to a place for the public display of knowledge. Modern Use Not only are the Muses explicitly used in modern English to refer to an artistic inspiration, as when one cites one 's own artistic muse, but they also are implicit in words and phrases such as `` amuse '', `` museum '' ( Latinised from mouseion -- a place where the Muses were worshipped ), `` music '', and `` musing upon ''. In current literature, the influential role that the Muse plays has been extended to the political sphere. Along with a majority of the Greek Gods, five of the Muses ( Thalia, Clio, Calliope, Melpomene and Terpsicore ) appeared in the Walt Disney animated film Hercules ( based on Hercules ), where they narrate the film through song and dance. These versions of the Muses are modeled after African American Gospel singers. All nine Muses appeared in several paintings in the 72 - piece art collection of Dante 's Inferno by Dino Di Durante, which is printed in books titled Inferno : The Art Collection and available in 33 languages. This said collection was also featured in the medium length film Dante 's Hell Animated by Boris Acosta. There is a modern tendency to speak of Kinema as the tenth Muse. Gallery Terpsichore Erato Clio Thalia Polyhymnia Calliope Apollo and the Muses Euterpe Parnassus Urania and Melpomene See also Apsara Artistic inspiration Divine inspiration Leibethra Pimpleia Saraswati Muses in popular culture References Jump up ^ `` muse ''. The Merriam - Webster Online Dictionary. Retrieved February 15, 2009. Jump up ^ From which mind and mental are also derived ; see Oxford English Dictionary. Jump up ^ * A.B. Cook ( 1914 ), Zeus : A Study in Ancient Religion, Vol. I, p. 104, Cambridge University Press Jump up ^ H. Munro Chadwick, Nora K. Chadwick ( 2010 ). `` The Growth of Literature ''. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781108016155. Jump up ^ At least, this was reported to Pausanias in the second century AD. Cfr. Karl Kerényi : The Gods of the Greeks, Thames & Hudson, London 1951, p. 104 and note 284. Jump up ^ Diodorus Siculus, 4.7. 1 -- 2 ( on - line text ) Jump up ^ See also the Italian article on this writer. Jump up ^ Diodorus, Plutarch and Pausanias are all noted by Susan Scheinberg, in reporting other Hellenic maiden triads, in `` The Bee Maidens of the Homeric Hymn to Hermes '', Harvard Studies in Classical Philology, 83 ( 1979 : 1 -- 28 ), p. 2. Jump up ^ Pausanias, Description of Greece 9.29. 1. Jump up ^ Smith, William ; Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, London ( 1873 ). `` Musae ''. Jump up ^ `` Elysium Gates - Historical Pegasus ''. Jump up ^ For example, Plato, Laws 653d. Jump up ^ Ovid, Metamorphoses 5.677 -- 78 : `` Now their previous eloquence also remained in the birds, as well as their strident chattering and their great zeal for speaking. '' See also Antoninus Liberalis 9. Jump up ^ Tzetzes, Scholia in Hesiodi Opera 1, 23 Jump up ^ Strabo 10.3. 10. Jump up ^ Solon, fragment 13. Jump up ^ OED derives `` amuse '' from French a - ( `` from '' ) and muser, `` to stare stupidly or distractedly ''. Jump up ^ Adam J. Sorkin : Politics and the Muse. Studies in the Politics of Recent American Literature. Bowling Green State University Popular Press, Bowling Green / OH 1989 ( on - line version ). Jump up ^ http://www.kinema.uwaterloo.ca/article.php?id=405&feature External links Wikisource has the text of The New Student 's Reference Work article Muses. Look up Muse # English or Muse in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Wikimedia Commons has media related to Muses. Muses in the ancient art Warburg Institute Iconographic Database ( ca 1,000 images of the Muses ) The Nine Muses of Mnemosyne Calliope Clio Euterpe Erato Melpomene Polyhymnia Terpsichore Thalia Urania Ancient Greek religion and mythology Classical religious forms Ancient Greek religion Gnosticism Paleo - Balkan mythology Hellenistic religion Magic Alchemy Orphism Pythagoreanism Mystery religions and Sacred mysteries Dionysian Mysteries Eleusinian Mysteries Imbrian Mysteries Mithraism Samotracian Mysteries Main beliefs Apotheosis Euhemerism Greek Heroic Age Paganism Paradoxography Monism Polytheism Mythology Theism Mythical beings Greek mythological creatures Greek mythological figures List of minor Greek mythological figures Mythical tribes Amazons Anthropophage Atlantians Bebryces Curetes Dactyls Gargareans Halizones Korybantes Lapiths Lotus - eaters Myrmidons Pygmies Telchines Primordial deities Aether Aion Ananke Chaos Chronos Erebus Eros Gaia Hemera Nyx Phanes Pontus Thalassa Tartarus Uranus Titans First generation Coeus Crius Cronus Hyperion Iapetus Mnemosyne Oceanus Phoebe Rhea Tethys Theia Themis Second generation Asteria Astraeus Atlas Eos Epimetheus Helios Lelantos Leto Menoetius Metis Pallas Perses Prometheus Selene Third generation Hecate Hesperus Phosphorus Olympians Zeus Hera Aphrodite Apollo Ares Artemis Athena Demeter Dionysus Hephaestus Hermes Hestia Poseidon Aquatic deities Poseidon Amphitrite Alpheus Ceto Glaucus Nereus Phorcys Potamoi Potamides Proteus Scamander Styx Thaumas Thetis Triton Oceanids Love deities Erotes Anteros Eros Hedylogos Hermaphroditus Himeros Hymen / Hymenaeus Pothos Aphrodite Aphroditus Philotes Peitho War deities Adrestia Alala Alke Amphillogiai Androktasiai Ares Athena Bia Deimos Enyalius Enyo Eris Gynaecothoenas Homados Hysminai Ioke Keres Kratos Kydoimos Makhai Nike Palioxis Pallas Perses Phobos Phonoi Polemos Proioxis Other major deities Asclepius Circe Eileithyia Harmonia Hebe Iris Momus Morpheus Nemesis Paean Pan Zelus Heroes / Heroines Achilles Actaeon Argonauts Ajax the Great Ajax the Lesser Atalanta Autolycus Bellerophon Cadmus Daedalus Diomedes Dioscuri ( Castor and Pollux ) Echetlus Heracles Icarus Iolaus Jason Meleager Odysseus Oedipus Orpheus Peleus Perseus Theseus Triptolemus Storage containers / Cups Amphora Chalice Ciborium Cotyla Hydria Hydriske Kalathos Kalpis Kylix Kantharos Lebes Lekythos Loutrophoros Oenochoe Pelike Pithos Skyphos Stamnos Musical Instruments Aulos Barbiton Chelys Cithara Cochilia Crotalum ( Castanets ) Epigonion Lyre Pan flute Pandura Phorminx Psaltery Salpinx Sistrum Tambourine Trigonon Tympanum Water organ Rites and practices Amphictyonic League Amphidromia Animal sacrifice Apotheosis Apotropaic magic Baptes Curse tablet Daduchos Delphinion Funeral and burial practices Hymns Hero cult Heroon Hierophany Hierophant Hierophylakes Hieros gamos Iatromantis Interpretatio graeca Libations Mystagogue Nekyia Necromancy Necromanteion Nymphaeum Panegyris Pharmakos Prayers Sacrifices Temenos Temples Votive offerings Games Panhellenic Games Olympic Games Pythian Games Nemean Games Isthmian Games Agon Panathenaic Games Rhieia Festivals / Feasts Actia Adonia Agrionia Amphidromia Anthesteria Apellai Apaturia Aphrodisia Arrhephoria Ascolia Bendidia Boedromia Brauronia Buphonia Chalceia Diasia Delphinia Dionysia Ecdysia Elaphebolia Gamelia Haloa Heracleia Hermaea Hieromenia Iolaia Kronia Lenaia Lykaia Metageitnia Munichia Oschophoria Pamboeotia Pandia Plynteria Pyanopsia Skira Synoikia Soteria Tauropolia Thargelia Theseia Thesmophoria Sacred places Athenian sacred ships Cave of Zeus Cretea Delphi Delos Dodona Eleusis Hiera Orgas Olympia Olympus Psychro Cave Sacred Way Texts / Epic poems Argonautica Bibliotheca Cyranides Derveni papyrus Ehoiai Greek Magical Papyri Homeric Hymns Iliad Odyssey Papyrus Graecus Holmiensis Telegony Theogony Works and Days Epic Cycle Theban Cycle Oracles / Seers Aesacus Aleuas Amphiaraus Amphilochus Ampyx Anius Asbolus Bakis Branchus Calchas Carnus Carya Cassandra Elatus Ennomus Halitherses Helenus Iamus Idmon Manto Melampus Mopsus Munichus Phineus Polyeidos Polypheides Pythia Sibyl Telemus Theiodamas Theoclymenus Tiresias Mythical realms Atlantis Hyperborea Panchaea Themiscyra Underworld Entrances to the underworld Rivers Acheron Cocytus Eridanos Lethe Phlegethon Styx Lakes / Swamps Acherusia Avernus Lake Lerna Lake Caves Cave at Cape Matapan Cave Charonium Cave at Lake Avernus Cave at Heraclea Pontica Ploutonion Pluto 's Gate Places Elysium Erebus Fields of Asphodel Fields of Punishment Isles of the Blessed Tartarus Judges of the underworld Aeacus Minos Rhadamanthus Guards Cerberus Ferryman Charon Charon 's obol Chthonic deities Psychopomps Hermes Thanatos Hades / Pluto Persephone Achlys Angelos Hecate Hypnos Keres Lampad Macaria Melinoe Symbols - Objects Bident Cap of invisibility Animals - Daemons / Spirits Ascalaphus Ceuthonymus Eurynomos Hade 's cattle Mythological wars Amazonomachy Attic War Centauromachy Gigantomachy Theomachy Titanomachy Trojan War Mythological and Religious objects Adamant Aegis Ambrosia Apple of Discord Ara Argo Baetylus Caduceus Cornucopia Dragon 's teeth Galatea Golden apple Golden Fleece Gorgoneion Greek terracotta figurines Harpe Ichor Lotus tree Minoan sealstone Moly Necklace of Harmonia Omphalos Orichalcum Palladium Panacea Pandora 's box Petasos ( Winged helmet ) Philosopher 's stone Ring of Gyges Rod of Asclepius Sacrificial tripod Sceptre Shield of Achilles Shirt of Nessus Sword of Damocles Talaria Thunderbolt Thymiaterion Thyrsus Trident Trojan Horse Winnowing Oar Wheel of Fortune Xoanon Symbols Labrys Ouroboros Owl of Athena Mythological powers Anthropomorphism Divination Eternal youth Evocation Fortune - telling Immortality Language of the birds Nympholepsy Magic Shamanism Shapeshifting Weather modification Modern offshoot religions Discordianism Gaianism Hellenismos Decline of Greco - Roman polytheism Modern popular culture Greek mythology in popular culture Ancient Greek deities by affiliation Primordial deities Achlys Aether Aion / Chronos Ananke Chaos Erebus Eros / Phanes Gaia Hemera Nyx Pontus / Thalassa Tartarus Uranus Fates Atropos Clotho Lachesis Titan deities Titanes ( male ) Coeus Crius Cronus Hyperion Iapetus Oceanus Ophion Titanides ( female ) Dione Eurybia Mnemosyne Phoebe Rhea Tethys Theia Themis Hyperionides Eos Helios Selene Koionides Asteria Lelantos Leto Krionides Astraeus Pallas Perses Iapetionides Atlas Epimetheus Menoetius Prometheus Okeanides Clymene Eurynome Metis Styx Olympian deities Dodekatheon Zeus Hera Ares Aphrodite Apollo Artemis Athena Demeter Dionysus Hephaestus Hermes Hestia Poseidon Theoi Olympioi Asclepius Deimos Ganymede Eileithyia Enyo Eris Eros Iris Harmonia Hebe Heracles Paean Pan Phobos Mousai ( Muses ) Calliope Clio Euterpe Erato Melpomene Polyhymnia Terpsichore Thalia Urania Charites ( Graces ) Aglaea Euphrosyne Thalia Horae ( Hours ) Dike Eirene Eunomia Styktides Bia Kratos Nike Zelos Oceanic deities Theoi Halioi Poseidon Amphitrite Ceto Glaucus Nereus Oceanus Phorcys Pontus / Thalassa Proteus Tethys Thaumas Thetis Triton Oceanids Asia Dione Doris Eurynome Metis Nemesis Pleione Tyche Nereides Amphitrite Galatea Thetis Potamoi Achelous Asopus Enipeus Scamander Chthonic deities Theoi Khthonioi Hades Persephone Angelos Demeter Gaia Hecate Melinoe Erinyes ( Furies ) Alecto Megaera Tisiphone Earthborn Cyclopes Gigantes Hecatonchires Kouretes Meliae Telkhines Typhon Apotheothenai Trophonius Triptolemus Orpheus Aeacus Minos Rhadamanthus Personifications Children of Nyx Achlys Apate Dolos Eleos Elpis Epiphron Eris Geras Hesperides Hybris Hypnos Ker Keres Moirai Aisa Clotho Lachesis Momus Moros Oizys Oneiroi Epiales Morpheus Phantasos Phobetor Nemesis Philotes Sophrosyne Thanatos Children of Eris Algos Amphillogiai Ate Androktasiai Dysnomia Horkos Hysminai Lethe Limos Makhai Phonoi Ponos Neikea Pseudea Logoi Children of other gods Aergia Aidos Alala Aletheia Arete Bia Caerus Charites Eucleia Eupheme Euthenia Philophrosyne Corus Deimos Eupraxia Hedone Homonoia Horae Dike Eirene Eunomia Kratos The Litae Homonoia Nike Phobos Tyche Zelos Others Adephagia Alala Alke Amechania Anaideia Alastor Apheleia Aporia The Arae Dikaiosyne Dyssebeia Ekecheiria Eulabeia Eusebeia Gelos Heimarmene Homados Horme Ioke Kakia Kalokagathia Koalemos Kydoimos Lyssa Mania Nomos Palioxis Peitharchia Penia Penthus Pepromene Pheme Philotes Phrike Phthonus Pistis Poine Polemos Poros Praxidike Proioxis Prophasis Roma Soter Soteria Techne Thrasos VIAF : 5727734 GND : 118820656 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Muses&oldid=798499499 '' Categories : Muses Greek legendary creatures Offspring of Zeus Triple deities Hidden categories : Articles containing Ancient Greek - 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Question: who are the muses and what are their roles
Answer: are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts in Greek mythology. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric songs, and myths that were related orally for centuries in these ancient cultures. They were later adopted by the Romans as a part of their pantheon.