Muse is ... Answer the question

Even a person who does not engage in creative work professionally knows the feeling when visiting a muse. This state, close to intoxication, causes a whole stream of thoughts and emotions, a desire to create something truly great. The writer begins to frantically print one after another pages of his novel, the artist - to experiment with forms, to bring to life hitherto unprecedented techniques and techniques of fine art. But still, the muse is what? Where did the legends of the muses appear?

Most know that the muse is a product of the imagination of the ancient Greeks. So were the nine daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne, the goddess of memory. That is, the patroness of inspiration belonged to the third generation of Olympians. It is interesting that initially the competence of muses - along with art - in the modern sense of the word included science and craft. That is, the ability to compose epigrams was valued in much the same way as guessing by the stars. On the other hand, in ancient Greece there was no muse of painting or architecture, which seems a little strange to contemporaries.

The giants of Aloade were the first to honor these creatures. At first there were only three of them (their names were translated as "experience", "memory" and "song"), but then the number increased. According to later legends, the muse is one who lives on Helikon, praises the gods and knows everything about the past, the present and the future. She enjoys patronizing poets, musicians and other creative people who, however, will cruelly take revenge, if they, in turn, try to compete with her, the daughter of Mnemosyne and Zeus. In later times, muse from concrete mythological beings grew into abstract symbols of science or craft.

Calliope

Calliope was considered the chief among all the daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne, and even the patron Apollo did not dare interrupt her, when she fervently talked about the purity and nobility of the soldiers. Calliope was the mother of Orpheus, it was from her that he inherited the ability to feel music well, as well as a special understanding of the poetic word, which should induce the hero to noble deeds, instill faith in his soul. So its attributes in the form of a lead and a scroll are by no means an ordinary symbol. Warriors, who were facing a difficult battle, could not swear by chance that they heard how Calliope composed his new work.

An inspired heroic muse is the personification of civil patriotism. The ancient Greeks even ordered her miniature images when they gathered in a distant, dangerous and difficult hike. One of these miniatures, according to legend, Pallas gave Odyssey, so that he always aspired to return to his native penates.

Cleo

"Imbues the love of the past" - so was described by Clio, the second muse. This vague description refers to the sciences that the Greeks valued almost the most. It's about history. The ancients believed that the muse preserved even the most insignificant event for posterity, so that not a single element of the puzzle called "the past" should be lost. She was quite strict and condemned Aphrodite, when she was flushed with a passion for the mortal. In retaliation, the goddess ordered the little Erot to hit Clio with an arrow, and the muse fell in love with a man who did not reciprocate her. Learning what the torment of love is, the muse no longer dared to condemn feelings.

Especially friendly, legends say, Clio was with Calliope. And this is not surprising: history goes hand in hand with courage and patriotism. They were even similar to each other, images of these muzes often ordered from the same masters.

Melpomene

Next up is the patroness of the tragedy. As the myths say, she was the mother of the sirens, those who nearly destroyed the Argonauts. Since childhood Melpomene's daughters have been given a beautiful voice. But they decided to compete with the Muses, for which they were punished by Zeus (or Poseidon, according to another version) and turned into birds. From now on, Melpomene will be sad forever about the fate of his children. In the hands of the muse of tragedy there is a theatrical mask and a sword symbolizing punishment for vanity.

Waist

Talia, the next muse, is the patroness of the comedy. She is the closest to Melpomene, although she never understood her boundless faith in rock. Cicero argued that on this basis the Muses often quarreled. In the hands of Talia was a comic mask, and this symbol could be interpreted as the embodiment of gaiety, love of life or the fact that human life is only a game of the gods. There is a legend that Zeus himself fell in love with Thalia, but "lucky" knew the character of Hera, so she preferred to hide from the love of the thunderer.

Evterpah

The next muse is the inspiration of true poets. Yevterpa patronized lyrical poetry and was considered the most refined, feminine among her sisters. It is a muse of words, a gift of versification. Her poems Olympians could listen for hours under the accompaniment of the harp.

Erato

Erato was distinguished by her gaiety and shyness, for she believed that the hearts of true lovers could not separate even the kingdom of Hades. This muse of music, wedding and love lyrics on the images is invariably decorated with roses - symbols of passion. Once on one of the weddings the music muse was bored. She said something to the musician - and in a moment a magic melody sounded, forcing those present to always be together.

Terpsichore

Before us is Terpsichore, the muse of dance, which used to have a slightly different meaning than now. Dance the Greeks perceived as something that should express harmony, absolute unity with culture or nature. They portrayed this muse with a lyre in his hands.

Polyhymnia

Polyhymnia patronized the speakers. It was believed that it was only to pronounce her name for the night, and the goddess would come down to the beggar and help him to get the gift of a voice that could reach the hearts of listeners.

Urania

The wisest (with the exception of Athena) of the daughters of the thunderer, Urania was the patroness of even sciences far from astronomy. It was portrayed with a globe and a compass.