The Muses Of Greek Mythology
The Muses are the Greek goddesses who preside over the arts
and sciences and inspire those who excel at these pursuits. Daughters
of Zeus and Mnemosyne ("memory"), they were born in Pieria on the
foot of Mount Olympus. Their nurse, Eupheme, raised them along with her son, Crotus the hunter , who was transported into the sky as
Sagittarius upon his death. Their name denotes 'memory' or 'a reminder', since in earlier times poets having no books to read from,
relied on their memories.
The original number of muses and their names vary. At first,
three muses were worshipped on Mount Helicon in Boeotia: Melete
("meditation"), Mneme ("memory"), and Aoede ("song"). Another three were ...
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usually referred to places where they had settled. Ephialtes and Otus, who also founded Ascra, were the first to sacrifice on Helicon to the Muses and to call the mountain sacred to the Muses. Sacrifices to the Muses consisted of gifts of water, milk, or honey.
Their companions are the Charities, the Horae, Eros, Dionysus,
Apollo, Aphrodite, Harmonia, and Himerus (Desire). Apollo is the
leader of the choir of the Muses and consequently he has the surname
Musagetes. Athena caught and tamed the winged horse Pegasus and gave him to the Muses. Some of their disciples included the Sphinx who learned her riddle from the Muses, Aristaeus, who learned the arts of healing and prophecy from them, and Echo, who was taught by them to play music.
In Plato's Phaedrus 259c, Socrates says that locusts were men
before the birth of the Muses. When the Muses were born, some men
were so overcome with delight that they sang constantly, forgetting to
eat or drink until they eventually died. ...
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"The Muses Of Greek Mythology." Essayworld.com. August 14, 2004. Accessed April 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/The-Muses-Of-Greek-Mythology/12651.
"The Muses Of Greek Mythology." Essayworld.com. August 14, 2004. Accessed April 23, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/The-Muses-Of-Greek-Mythology/12651.
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