Page 59 - Amo Amass A-muse is some of the fruit of a lifetimes love of Freemasonry - the Lodge of Nine Muses No. 235

ThE PEDiGREES OF ThE muSES

T IS WITH A SINKING FEELING that I rise after 30 years as a Grand Deacon,
but I am buoyed up by the friendship and spirit of the Muses which we all share
Itogether.
Very few of us received a Classical Education or learnt much about the Gods of
Greece. By looking up various records I have discovered something of the Pedigrees
of our Muses. We should all know the names of the Muses and on some of our Firing
Glasses are the emblems with which the Greeks used to depict them.
The Muses were the Daughters of Zeus the Chief of the Gods, which the Romans
called Jupiter, and Mnemosyne, the Goddess of Memory. Apollo, the Sun God, was
their Patron and conductor of the Muses, so it is right that he should be depicted on
our Master’s Jewel. As such, he received the name of Musagetes. He was also the God
of Song, Music, Poetry and Eloquence. He is said to have delighted in the foundation
of Towns and the establishment of Civil Government. Masonically speaking, he was a
builder of Law and Order and he is supposed to have raised the walls of Tyre by playing
upon his lyre. He succeeded Baccus as a sort of Patron Saint of Inns and Pubs : when
they rose from being dens of excess to being more respectable places of cheerfulness.
The Muses sang choruses around the altars of Heaven and were welcome at
Olympian Banquets. It is from them that the Romans developed their Seven Liberal
Arts and Sciences. They won a famous contest with the daughters of Pierus the son
of Magnus, whom they turned into Magpies. Our Muse Clio, signifying Glory, who
presided over History, seemed to have subsequently married Pierus, son of Magnus,
and had a daughter Hyacinthia and a son Hymenaeus. They knew all things past and
present and breathed inspiration into the minds of Poets, Musicians and Scientists. The
Greek word `Mousa’ means to know.
The head of the Muses was undoubtedly Calliope who presided over Eloquence and
inspired Poets. She married Apollo and their son was Orpheus. She settled a dispute
between Venus and Proserpina as to which should have Adonis. She is sometimes
depicted as a triple goddess of Meditation, Memory and Song. As the Goddess of the
Sky, she was named Luna, representing the new, full and waning Moon. As Goddess
of the Earth, she was named Diana, representing Spring, Summer and Winter and as