Question: what are the names of the nine muses
Answer: 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 ) .