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| (Guess who?) |
Although some who lived in Boeotia (“one of the earliest inhabited regions of prehistoric Greece”) claimed that there were originally only three Muses – Hesiod (also from Boeotia), as well as Homer, upheld the notion that there were nine. These nine were said to be the daughters of Zeus (ruler of the Olympian gods) and Mnemosyne (the Titaness personification of memory).
Wait a minute, wasn’t Zeus married to Hera? Perhaps so, but that didn’t stop him from dilly-dallying with Mnemosyne for nine days (and
more pertinently, nights) - thus resulting in the births of (count them) Calliope (Epic Poetry), Clio (History), Erato (Love Poetry), Euterpe
(Music), Melponeme (Tragedy), Polyhymnia (Hymns), Terpsichore (Dance), Thalia (Comedy), and Urania (Astronomy).
Although these Muse specialties may seem somewhat disjointed, a poet of Shakespeare’s caliber might need to call upon them all in order to create a Romeo and Juliet type opus.
Aside from their half-dressed voluptuous bodies, how can these nine be spotted in a crowd? Most of them don’t exactly travel light. Wikipedia reports that Calliope carries a writing tablet, Clio a scroll and some books, Eurato a lyre (plus, her crown of roses is a dead giveaway), and Terpsichore also a lyre (but she’s the one without the crown
of roses who can’t sit still). Unless it’s either Mardi Gras or Halloween, Thalia’s comic mask and Melpomene’s tragic one will also scream “Muse on board!” Now it might seem that Polyhymnia’s trademark “pensive expression” would not ID her very easily. However, in
today’s extroverted society, pensive expressions are all too rare.
Resources
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muse
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mnemosyne
Copyright April 25, 2012 by Linda Van Slyke All Rights Reserved
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