Muses - wikipedia Muses `` Muse '' redirects here. For other uses, see Muse ( disambiguation ). This article is about the Ancient Greek goddesses. For other uses, see The Muse ( disambiguation ). Muse, perhaps Clio, reading a scroll ( Attic red - figure lekythos, Boeotia, c. 430 BC ) The Muses ( / ˈmjuːzɪz / ; Ancient Greek : Μοῦσαι, Moũsai ) 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 word `` 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. R.S.P. Beekes rejects both etymologies and suggests a Pre-Greek origin. 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 originally three Muses, worshipped 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, later they were called Kēphisṓ, Apollōnís, and Borysthenís, which names characterize them as daughters of Apollo. In a later tradition, a set of four Muses were recognized : Thelxinóē, Aoidḗ Archē, and Melétē, said to be daughters of Zeus and Plusia or of Ouranos. 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 Thalia, Muse of comedy, holding a comic mask ( detail from the `` Muses Sarcophagus '' ) Apollo and the Muses on Mount Helicon ( 1680 ) by Claude Lorrain According to Hesiod 's Theogony ( seventh century BC ), they were daughters of Zeus, king of the gods, and Mnemosyne, Titan goddess of memory. For Alcman and Mimnermus, they were even more primordial, springing from the early deities Ouranos 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 -- 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 Ouranos 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 In society The Muses Clio, Euterpe, and Thalia, by Eustache Le Sueur 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 derives from the Indo - European root men -, which is also the source of Greek Mnemosyne and mania, English `` mind '', `` mental '' and `` monitor '', Sanskrit mantra and Avestan Mazda. The Muses Melpomene, Erato, and Polyhymnia, by Eustache Le Sueur 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. 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 The Car of History, a 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. Pausanias referred to the Muses by the surnames `` Ardalides '' or `` Ardaliotides '', because of a sanctuary to them at Troezen said to have been built by the mythical Ardalus. 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 gospel - inspired song and dance. These versions of the Muses are modeled after African American Gospel singers. All nine muses appear in the 1980 film Xanadu, with actress Olivia Newton - John as Terpsicore. 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. In New Orleans, Louisiana, there are streets named for all nine Muses, This said collection was also featured in the medium length film Dante 's Hell Animated by Boris Acosta. In New Orleans, Louisiana, there are streets named for all nine Muses. It is commonly held that the local pronunciation of the names has been colorfully anglicized in an unusual manner by the `` Yat '' dialect. The pronunciations are actually in line with the French, Spanish and Creole roots of the city. 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 ^ R.S.P. Beekes, Etymological Dictionary of Greek, Brill, 2009, p. 772. 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 ^ Calvert Watkins, ed., The American Heritage Dictionary of Indo - European Roots, 3d ed., p. 56. 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 ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbICHD5LZCc 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 Proto - Indo - European religion Hellenistic religion Alchemy Orphism Pythagoreanism Mycenaean deities Mystery religions and sacred mysteries Dionysian Mysteries Eleusinian Mysteries Imbrian Mysteries Mithraism Samotracian Mysteries Main beliefs Apotheosis Euhemerism Greek Heroic Age Interpretatio graeca Monism Mythology Nympholepsy Paganism Paradoxography Polytheism Theism Texts / epic poems / odes Aretalogy Argonautica Bibliotheca Cyranides Derveni papyrus Ehoiai Greek Magical Papyri Homeric Hymns Iliad Odyssey Papyrus Graecus Holmiensis Telegony The golden verses of Pythagoras Theogony Works and Days Epic Cycle Theban Cycle Rites and practices Amphictyonic League Amphidromia Animal sacrifice Apotheosis Baptes Curse tablet Daduchos Delphinion Funeral and burial practices Hymns Hero cult Heroon Hierophany Hierophant Hierophylakes Hieros gamos Hypsistarians Iatromantis Interpretatio graeca Libations Mystagogue Nekyia Necromancy Necromanteion Nymphaeum Panegyris Pharmakos Prayers Orgia Sacrifices Temenos Temples Votive offerings Sacred places Athenian sacred ships Cave of Zeus Cretea Delphi Delos Dodona Eleusis Hiera Orgas Olympia Olympus Psychro Cave Sacred Way Mythical beings Dragons in Greek mythology Greek mythological creatures Greek mythological figures List of minor Greek mythological figures Deities 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 Leto Menoetius Metis Pallas Perses Prometheus Selene Third generation Hecate Hesperus Phosphorus Twelve Olympians Aphrodite Apollo Ares Artemis Athena Demeter Dionysus Hephaestus Hera Hermes Hestia Poseidon Zeus Aquatic deities Amphitrite Alpheus Ceto Glaucus The Naiads The Nereids Nereus The Oceanids Phorcys Poseidon The Potamoi Potamides Proteus Scamander Thaumas Thetis Triton 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 Ma Makhai Nike Palioxis Pallas Perses Phobos Phonoi Polemos Proioxis Chthonic deities Psychopomps Hermanubis Hermes Thanatos Achlys Angelos Hades / Pluto Hecate Hypnos Keres Lampad Macaria Melinoe Persephone Health deities Aceso Aegle Artemis Apollo Asclepius Chiron Eileithyia Epione Hebe Hygieia Iaso Paean Panacea Telesphorus Sleep deities Empusa Epiales Hypnos Morpheus Pasithea Phantasos Phobetor Oneiroi Messenger deities Angelia Arke Hermes Iris Trickster deities Apate Dolos Hermes Momus Magic deities Circe Hecate Hermes Trismegistus Triple deity Other major deities Azone The Erinyes Harmonia The Muses Nemesis Pan Unknown God Zelus Heroes / heroines Abderus Achilles Actaeon Aeneas Argonauts Ajax the Great Ajax the Lesser Akademos Amphiaraus Amphitryon Antilochus Atalanta Autolycus Bellerophon Bouzyges Cadmus Chrysippus Cyamites Daedalus Diomedes Dioscuri ( Castor and Pollux ) Echetlus Eleusis Erechtheus Eunostus Ganymede Hector Heracles Icarus Iolaus Jason Meleager Odysseus Oedipus Orpheus Pandion Peleus Pelops Penthesilea Perseus Theseus Triptolemus Mythical tribes Amazons Anthropophage Atlantians Bebryces Curetes Dactyls Gargareans Halizones Korybantes Lapiths Lotus - eaters Myrmidons Pygmies Telchines Oracles / seers Aesacus Aleuas Amphiaraus Amphilochus Ampyx Anius Asbolus Bakis Branchus Calchas Carnus Carya Cassandra Delphic Sibyl Elatus Ennomus Halitherses Helenus Iamus Idmon Manto Melampus Mopsus Munichus Phineus Polyeidos Polypheides Pythia Sibyl Telemus Theiodamas Theoclymenus Tiresias Magic Apotropaic magic Greek Magical Papyri Philia Mythical realms Aethiopia Atlantis Hyperborea Libya Nysa Ogygia Panchaia Scythia 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 Symbols / objects Bident Cap of invisibility Animals / daemons / spirits Ascalaphus Ceuthonymus Eurynomos Hade 's cattle Mythological wars Amazonomachy Attic War Centauromachy Gigantomachy Cranes - Pygmies war Theomachy Titanomachy Trojan War Mythological and religious objects Adamant Aegis Ambrosia Apple of Discord Ara Baetylus Caduceus Cornucopia Dragon 's teeth Diipetes 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 Wheel of fire Xoanon Symbols Arkalochori Axe Labrys Ouroboros Owl of Athena Mythological powers Anthropomorphism Divination Eternal youth Evocation Fortune - telling Immortality Language of the birds Nympholepsy Magic Ornithomancy Shamanism Shapeshifting Weather modification Storage containers / cups Amphora Calathus Chalice Ciborium Cotyla Hydria Hydriske Kalpis Kylix Kantharos Lebes Lekythos Loutrophoros Oenochoe Pelike Pithos Skyphos Stamnos Musical Instruments Aulos Barbiton Chelys Cithara Cochilia Crotalum ( Castanets ) Epigonion Kollops Lyre Pan flute Pandura Phorminx Psaltery Salpinx Sistrum Tambourine Trigonon Tympanum Water organ 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 Vessels Argo Phaeacian ships Modern offshoot religions Discordianism Gaianism Greco - Buddhism 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 The Ourea 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 Leto Lelantos Krionides Astraeus Pallas Perses Iapetionides Atlas Epimetheus Menoetius Prometheus Mousai ( Muses ) Aoide Arche Melete Mneme Olympian deities Dodekatheon Aphrodite Apollo Ares Artemis Athena Demeter Dionysus Hephaestus Hera Hermes Hestia Poseidon Zeus Theoi Olympioi Asclepius Deimos Ganymede Eileithyia Enyo Eris Iris Harmonia Hebe Heracles Paean Pan Phobos Mousai ( Muses ) Daughters of Zeus Calliope Clio Euterpe Erato Melpomene Polyhymnia Terpsichore Thalia Urania Daughters of Apollo Apollonis Borysthenis Cephisso Muses of the Lyre Hypate Mese Nete Muses at Sicyon Polymatheia Charites ( Graces ) Aglaea Antheia Euphrosyne Hegemone Pasithea Thalia Horae ( Hours ) Dike Eirene Eunomia Styktides Bia Kratos Nike Zelos Aquatic deities Theoi Halioi Amphitrite Benthesikyme Brizo Calypso Ceto Glaucus The Ichthyocentaurs Kymopoleia Leucothea Melicertes Nereus Nerites The Nesoi Oceanus Phorcys Pontus / Thalassa Poseidon Proteus Rhodos Tethys Thaumas Thetis Triton Oceanids Acaste Admete Adrasteia Amalthea Asia Callirrhoe Ceto Clytie Dione Dodone Doris Electra Eurynome Idyia Melia Metis Nemesis Perse Pleione Plouto Styx Telesto Zeuxo Nereides Amphitrite Arethusa Dynamene Galatea Galene Psamathe Thetis Potamoi Achelous Almo Alpheus Anapos Asopus Asterion Axius Caanthus Cebren Cephissus Clitumnus Enipeus Kladeos Meander Nilus Numicus Phyllis Peneus Rivers of the Underworld Cocytus Eridanos Lethe Phlegethon Styx Sangarius Scamander Simoeis Strymon Naiads Aegina Achiroe Aganippe The Anigrides Argyra Bistonis Bolbe Caliadne Cassotis Castalia Cleocharia Creusa Daphne Drosera Harpina The Ionides Ismenis Larunda Lilaea Liriope Melite Metope Minthe Moria Nana Nicaea Orseis Pallas Pirene Salmacis Stilbe The Thriae Corycia Kleodora Melaina Tiasa Chthonic deities Theoi Chthonioi Angelos Demeter Gaia Hades Hecate The Lampads Macaria Melinoë Persephone Zagreus Erinyes ( Furies ) Alecto Megaera Tisiphone Earthborn Cyclopes Gigantes Hecatonchires Kouretes Meliae Telchines Typhon Apotheothenai Trophonius Triptolemus Orpheus Aeacus Minos Rhadamanthus Personifications Children of Nyx Achlys Apate Dolos Eleos Elpis Epiphron Eris Geras Hesperides Hybris Hypnos Ker The Keres The Moirai Aisa Clotho Lachesis Momus Moros Oizys The Oneiroi Epiales Morpheus Phantasos Phobetor Nemesis Philotes Sophrosyne Thanatos Children of Eris Algos Amphillogiai Ate The Androktasiai Dysnomia Horkos Hysminai Lethe Limos Machai Phonoi Ponos Neikea Pseudea Logoi Children of other gods Aergia Aidos Alala Aletheia Angelia Arete Bia Caerus The Younger Charites Eucleia Eupheme Euthenia Philophrosyne Corus Deimos The Erotes Anteros Eros Hedylogos Hermaphroditus Hymen Eupraxia Hedone Homonoia Iacchus Kratos The Litae Homonoia Nike Peitho 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 The Maniae Methe Nomos Palioxis Peitharchia Penia Penthus Pepromene Pheme Philotes Phrike Phthonus Pistis Poine Polemos Poros Praxidike Proioxis Prophasis Roma Soter Soteria Techne Thrasos Other deities Sky deities The Anemoi The Astra Planeti Stilbon Eosphorus Hesperus Pyroeis Phaethon Phaenon Aura Chione The Hesperides The Hyades Nephele The Pleiades Alcyone Sterope Celaeno Electra Maia Merope Taygete Agricultural deities Aphaea Ariadne Carmanor Demeter Despoina Eunostus Philomelus Plutus Health deities Asclepius Aceso Epione Iaso Hygieia Panacea Telesphorus Rustic deities Aetna The Alseids The Auloniads Amphictyonis The Anthousai Aristaeus Attis Britomartis The Cabeiri Comus The Dryades Erato Eurydice The Hamadryades Chrysopeleia The Epimeliades Hecaterus Leuce Ma The Maenades The Meliae The Napaeae The Nymphai Hyperboreioi The Oreads Adrasteia Echo Helike Iynx Nomia Oenone Pitys The Pegasides Priapus Rhapso Silenus Telete Others Acratopotes Adrasteia Agdistis Alexiares and Anicetus Aphroditus Astraea Circe Eiresione Enyalius Harpocrates Ichnaea Palaestra GND : 118820656 VIAF : 5727734 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Muses&oldid=845832542 '' Categories : Muses Greek legendary creatures Offspring of Zeus Triple deities Hidden categories : Articles containing Ancient Greek - 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Question: one of the 3 original muses in greek mythology
Answer: Melete or "Practice"