The Muses are a sisterhood of Greek Goddesses. Together they inspire humankind to make music, to sing and dance, to write and act, to let their creativity flow. The Greeks were not the only culture to have Muses. The Romans had water nymphs whom lived in springs of inspiration called the Camenae, the Norse people had the Volva and the Hindu religion has Apsarasa.

In Greek, the word “muse” is “mousa’, which translates to “song” or “poem”. From the word “muse” comes the words “amuse”, “music”, “mosaic” and “museum”. The word is also used in the English language to mean inspiration.

The Muses are water Nymphs, who were worshipped throughout all of Greece, especially in areas around springs and wells. The number of Muses varies depending on the legend. Some say there was three, others nine and some feel there was three older Muses and nine younger. The belief in the nine Muses is the most recent and common.

The three oldest Muses;

Aoide - Muse of Song or voice.

Melete - Muse of practice or occasion.

Mneme - Muse of memory.

The nine younger Muses;

Calliope, the beautiful speech - Muse of historic or epic poetry.

Erato, the amorous one - Muse of love and erotic poetry and song.

Clio, the glorious one - Muse of history.

Euterpe, the well-pleasing - Muse of music and lyric poetry.

Melpomene, the chanting one - Muse of tragedy.

Polyhymnia - the singer of many hymns- Muse of scared song.

Terpsichore, the one who delights in dance - Muse of dance and choral song.

Thalia, the blossoming one - Muse of comedy.

Urania, the celestial one - Muse of astronomy.

Like most of the Greek Gods, their parentage is uncertain. Some legends say they were the daughters of Zeus and the Goddess of Memory, Mnemosyne. Other histories tell of them being far older, being the offspring of Gaia and Uranus or even Gaia and Pan. Some scholars believe that the three oldest of the sisters are the daughters of the older Gods, where the younger nine Muses were the daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne.

The Muses reside on Mount Helicon and attend the King of Gods, Zeus. There they sing and tell tales of his greatness and splendour. They also sing tales of the great heroes and the beginnings of the world. The Muses are guided and led by the God Apollo.

The Muses are invoked at the beginning of most ancient Greek poetry and hymns. To the Ancient Greeks the Muses were the real speaker and the author was simply the mouthpiece of their words. They were the “Key to the good life” as they brought both friendship and wealth into ones life. They helped to inspire people to do their best and encouraged them to be creative. In today’s busy world, it is the wise person who takes the time to follow their Muse, as the creativity and inspiration they bring helps us to follow our hearts and dreams.