muses

The Muses are Greek mythological goddesses associated with the arts, literature, and sciences, regarded as sources of inspiration for poets, musicians, and scholars. In Hesiod's Theogony they are nine daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne, the goddess of memory, and they are commonly portrayed as companions of the Olympian gods. Though their number and roles vary in ancient sources, the nine most often cited are widely accepted.

The nine Muses are Calliope (epic poetry), Clio (history), Erato (lyric and love poetry), Euterpe (music), Melpomene (tragedy), Polyhymnia (sacred poetry), Terpsichore (dance), Thalia (comedy and pastoral poetry), and Urania (astronomy).

Their worship was centered at Mount Helicon in Boeotia and the Pierian Spring in Macedonia, and they were invoked at the start of works to grant inspiration and memory. In iconography they are typically depicted as graceful women, sometimes with attributes that reflect their domains: Calliope with a writing tablet or scroll, Clio with a scroll, Erato with a lyre, Euterpe with a flute, Melpomene with a tragic mask, Polyhymnia veiled, Terpsichore with a lyre, Thalia with a comedy mask, and Urania with a celestial globe or compass.

The Muses have exerted a lasting influence on Western culture as symbols of artistic and scholarly inspiration. The term muse now commonly denotes a person or source of creative influence for writers, artists, and scientists.