Page 8 - The Muses Nine

8 Lodge of the Nine Muses 1777 – Today

The nine Muses finally established in the worship and imagination of the
Greeks were Clio, Euterpe, Thaleia, Melpomene, Erato, Polymnia, Calliope,
Urania and Terpsichore. They were sometimes referred to as the Mneiae,
Remembrances. Once the full complement of Muses had settled in, the poets
could not have enough of them. Sometime they were on Olympus, singing
songs at the table of the gods. Sometimes they were on Mount Helicon or its
extension, Mount Libethrias. Other times they were on Mount Parnassus in
the company of Apollo. Wherever they were they conferred the poetic gift,
and invocations to them were deeply sincere. Later these invocations became
conventional in opening sections of literary works. The Muses were given
presence by inclusion in certain events such as the funeral of Patroclus, at which
they sang lamentations. They performed at the weddings of Harmonia and
Thetis. They were judges in the contest between Apollo and Marsyas. They
helped teach Aristaeus the art of healing. They instructed Orpheus on the lyre,
and later they had him placed amongst the stars. Their companions were the
Charites, the Horae. Eros, Dionysus, Apollo, Aphrodite, Harmonia and other
divinities.
The Muses were not all sweetness and light. In addition to punishing the
Pierides, they deprived Thamyris of his sight and ability to sign when he claimed
he could surpass them in song. Similarly they defeated the Sirens in a contest and
took away their wings. One did not foolishly match artistic talents with those
of the nine sisters.
The Muses were also considered to have prophetic powers, partially as a
result of their association with Apollo. Apollo was described as the leader of the
choir of the Muses and consequently had the surname Musagetes. Amongst the
surnames of the Muses themselves were Aganippides, from a spring sacred to
them on Mount Helicon; Castalides; from as sacred spring on Mount Parnassus;
Ilissides, from an altar at Athens on the Ilissus River; Libethrides from Mount
Libethrias; where they had a sacred grotto; Olympiades, as an expression of
their heavenly (versus worldly) status; Pierides, from Pieria, where they were
first worshipped; and Thespiades, from Thespiae, a town at the foot of Mount
Helicon.