The Muses

Am I mad, or does the Muse call out to me?
Don't you hear her? Don't you hear her
in the rustling leaves, in the wind's soft voice,
in the water's laughter? Don't you hear her?

If this is madness, let me go insane!
Let me go in search of her, calling out
to the bright sky: descend, singing goddess,
descend! Bring us your immortal music:

the sound of flutes playing like wind
over bending grass, the sound of strings
plucked like sudden sunshine, the clear bell
of your voice thrilling through the world.
from The Odes of Horace

The Muses are the nine daughters of Mnemosyne, Memory… the expression through the arts of humankind's deepest memories and visions. Each Muse gives the gift of inspiration in a particular artform. Often depicted as accompanied by Apollo, who represents discipline and application of the arts, the Muses thus offer both the first spark of creativity and the focus to see it through to completion.

The Muses are:
Calliope, epic or heroic poetry
Clio, history
Erato, love poetry and flute-playing
Euterpe, lyric poetry and lyre-playing
Melpomene, tragedy
Polyhymnia, sacred music and dance
Terpsichore, choral music and dance
Thalia, comedy and idyllic poetry
Urania, astronomy and cosmological poetry

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