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The Muses - the mythic source of creativity
The mystery of creativity. Ask an artist, musician, poet, or writer about the source of their creativity and you're likely to get a variety of answers. What about architects, carpenters, philosophers, and scientists - what is the secret to the "creative force" in their work? Creative potential lies within all of us, so what makes the difference between the creativity we see, and the creativity unseen?
If you had asked such questions 3,000 years ago there would have been no hesitation in the response, and no doubt about the answer. The poets, singers, musicians, and artists of ancient Greece, and their audiences and admirers, would have all given you the same answer. The creative source was the Muse - the goddess of poetry, the giver of song.
"The Muse gave the Greeks genius and the art of the well-turned phrase."
Horace (Ancient Roman poet 65 B.C.-8 B.C.)
Who were the Muses?
The Muses were the nine beautiful daughters of Zeus (the supreme Olympian god) and Mnemosyne (a Titan, the personification of memory). As with many myths, the details vary. Other stories say the Muses were the daughters of Harmonia, and some say they were the daughters of Uranus and Gaia. Though typically presented as nine in number, Delphi had three Muses, and Lesbos seven. The Muses have been linked to the myth of Orpheus, the cult of Dionysis, the winged horse Pegasus, and most notably, to Apollo - god of, among other things, poetry. It is said the Muses taught the nymph Echo to sing, and that the Sphinx received the famous riddle from these nine divine goddesses of poetry.
When the Muses sang, they delighted the gods. The heavens considered their voices the most beautiful they had ever heard. Their songs were famous for helping men forget their troubles. Living on Olympus with carefree spirits the Muses sang with harmonious voices of what is, what was, and what is to be. But one had to be very careful with what they heard. Master crafters with words, the Muses knew how to speak (and inspire) false words that sounded like true sayings and, when they wished, they also knew how to speak the truth itself.
During ancient times it was essential that a singer "invoke the muse" to receive the inspiration and the ability needed to perform. And it wasn't just singing they inspired. The Greeks believed the Muses inspired all artistic, musical, and literary creations, as well as scientific thinking and other areas of knowledge. The inspiration of the Muses could also help great leaders find the eloquent words needed to help settle disputes. These women were divine, and those for whom they bestowed such inspiration were blessed indeed.
Blessed, yes, but these same joyful and generous Muses had another side. The gifts bestowed, could also be taken away. Upsetting the Muses had its consequences. And what sort of offenses might upset a Muse? Well, you could ask Thamyris. His boasting so offended the Muses, they took away his sight and his memory. You could also ask the nine daughters of Pierus. Well, actually you can't. The Muses turned them into magpies after they challenged the Muses to a singing contest and behaved poorly when they lost.
Tell Me MoreInvoking the Muse
The Muses were nine mythic forces with great power. During ancient times it was essential that singers (also called poets, bards, rhapsodes) "invoke the muse" to receive the inspiration and the ability they needed to perform.
The Mirriam-Webster Dictionary defines "invoke" as "a petition for help or support, to appeal to or cite as authority." The word "invoke" comes from Latin invocare: in- + vocare (to call). Do you know where the word "vocare" comes from and what modern-day word comes from it? Keep reading and we'll tell you.
Hesiod and Homer were among the first ancient storytellers (850-650 B.C.) to ask for, and receive, such divine inspiration. Hesiod begins his Theogony with the Muses and proceeds to recite a poem of 1,000 lines reminding his audience along the way of the source of his inspiration. He tells us that the goddesses of poetry "breathed into" him divine song, and commanded him to sing of the deathless gods - but to always "begin and end" his song with the Muses. Singers and lyre-players, he tells us, are descended from the Muses and the god of poetry, Apollo.
Homer, like Hesiod, lived during the time of the oral storytelling tradition. They performed (singing was their profession) without the written word – in other words, without a script. This is rather remarkable considering the length of the stories they were telling. Homer's Iliad contains 16,000 lines and the Odyssey has more than 12,000 lines. Homer, and the singers of these epic poems who followed him, started each performance with an invocation to the Muse. The singer was acknowledging to all that the Muse was the source of the creative force that the audience was about to experience. But the audience knew. How else could the singer exhibit such talent unless the gods had bestowed it.
What Hesiod and Homer started, others continued. Pindar, Plato, and Pythagoras, spoke of the Muse, as did Virgil and Ovid. In fact, artists, poets, musicians, and writers have kept the tradition alive for centuries.
The word "invoke" comes from Latin invocare: in- + vocare (to call). Vocare is from voc-, vox …the source of the word voice.
"I'd like to thank my Muse"
Following in the tradition of the ancients, invocations of these personifications of creative inspiration have continued in the words of Dante, Geoffrey Chaucer, William Shakespeare, John Milton, and William Blake (to name just a few). And today it is not at all unusual to hear an artist, writer, musician, or actor thank their Muse for their inspiration, referring to that special someone who has been a significant influence in their creative life. It's true. Ancient stories, timeless wisdom.
 The Divine Nine - Consultants in Creativity
Yes, we all have creative potential. So what makes the difference between the creativity we see, and the creativity unseen? Perhaps the difference is the presence of a Muse. Here are the famous nine muses and their areas of influences, invoke as needed.
| Calliope |
Muse of heroic song and epic poetry (such as Homer's Odyssey). Champion of the nine Muses. Mother of Orpheus. The musical instrument gets its name from this goddess. |
| Euterpe |
Muse of flute playing and lyric song, the giver of joy |
| Clio |
Muse of history, recorder of all great deeds and heroic actions, the giver of fame. Perhaps you've heard of The Clio Awards – "the world's most recognized global awards competition honoring creative excellence in advertising and design." |
| Erato |
Muse of love poetry, awakens desire |
| Melpomene |
Muse of tragedy, wears a crown of gold and holds a dagger. Mother of the Sirens. |
| Polyhymnia |
Muse of sacred poetry, the giver of many ("poly") hymns |
| Terpsichore |
She is the light-footed Muse of dancing |
| Thalia |
Festive Muse of comedy, wears a crown of wild flowers |
| Urania |
Heavenly Muse of astronomy, holds mathematical instruments, loves the exact sciences. |
Muses and Myth
The Muses feature prominently in Greek and Roman myths. They sang at many great events - happy celebrations, and solemn ones as well. The Muses were there, singing, when the Olympians defeated the Titans. They also sang at the famous marriage of Peleus and Thetis, and they sang (for 17 days!) and the funeral of the great war hero, Achilles. Here are words from Homer's Iliad and Ovid's Metamorpheses revealing the Muses finest moments.
The Story of Thamyris – from the Iliad
Thamyris was a singer. He dared to boast that his singing was superior to that of the Muses. Not a good idea.
"The Muses encountering Thamyris the Thracian stopped him from singing … for he boasted that he would surpass, if the very Muses, daughters of Zeus who holds the aegis, were singing against him, and these in their anger struck him maimed, and the voice of wonder they took away, and made him a singer without memory…"
The Iliad of Homer (c.650 B.C.) (Book 2.594-600)
Richmond Lattimore translation (1951)
The University of Chicago Press
The Story of the Muses and the Magpies (as told by the Muses to Athena)
Pierus, a rich squire, had nine daughters. "This pack of stupid sisters, puffed with pride" and dared challenge the nine Muses, daughters of Zeus, to a singing competition. Calliope, with her lyre, represented the Muses in this competition. In the end, the nymphs declared the Muses the winners. The nine daughters of Pierus, not accepting defeat graciously, hurled abuse at the nine daughters of Zeus. This did not please the Muses.
"Our patience has
Its limits; we'll proceed to punishment.
Where anger calls, we'll follow." Those nine girls …
Laughed and despised my threats and, as they tried
To speak and shout and scream and shake their fists,
Before their eyes their fingers sprouted feathers,
Plumage concealed their arms, and each of them
Saw in the face of each a hard beak form,
All weird new birds to live among the woods;
And as they beat their breasts their flapping arms
Raised them to ride the air – and there they were,
Magpies, the copses' saucy scolds. Now still
As birds they keep their former eloquence,
Their endless raucous chattering, as each
Indulges in her passionate love of speech.'
Ovid's Metamorphses 1-17 A.D. (V.665-678)
A.D. Melville translation (1986)
Oxford University Press
So, the next time you listen to MUSic or visit a MUSEum, look at a MOSAic – or think about a magpie - remember the nine Muses. Music (originally the art of the Muses), museum (place for the Muses), and mosaic (work of the Muses) are words that originate with the name of these nine remarkable sisters.
O'Muse someone this month. Tell them a Myth!
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