Our navigation bar is loading . . . . . .


Advertise on JCSM - Hear JCSM's Weekly Devotions via Podcast/RSS Feed! - Skip These Ads

You can advertise your site right here!Click here to learn more!

 10,000 Wise Quotes and Spiritual Sayings by Jason Gastrich, Ph.D.

 JCSM's Top 1000 Christian Sites - Free Traffic Sharing Service! Join the Online Christ-Centered Ministries!

-
Jesus Christ Saves Ministries

Click here and add this page to your favorites!

Return to the JCSM Study Center!

Encyclopedia Britannica



MUSES, THE (Gr. Mo6o-at, the thinkers)

This article appears in Volume V19, Page 60 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: MOS-NAN
MUSES, THE (Gr. Mo6o-at, the thinkers) , in Greek mythology, originally nymphs of springs, then goddesses of song, and, later, of the different kinds of poetry and of the arts and sciences generally. In Homer, who says nothing definite as to their names or number, they are simply goddesses of song, who dwell among the gods on
Olympus
 , where they sing at their banquets under the leadership of Apollo Musagetes. According to Hesiod (Theog. 77), who first gives the usually accepted names and number, they were the daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne, the personification of memory; others made them children of
Uranus and Gaea. Three older Muses (Mneme, Melete, Aoide) were sometimes distinguished, whose
worship
  was said to have been introduced by the Aloidae on Mt Helicon (Pausanias ix. 29). It is probable that three was the
original
  number of the Muses, which was increased to nine owing to their arrangement in three groups of three in the sacred choruses. Round the altar of Zeus they sing of the origin of the world, of gods and men, of the glorious deeds of Zeus; they also honour the great heroes; and celebrate the marriages of Cadmus and Peleus, and the death of Achilles. As goddesses of song they protect those who recognize their superiority, but punish the arrogantsuch as Thamyris, the Thracian bard, who for having boasted himself their equal was deprived of sight and the power of song. From their connexion with Apollo and their
original
  nature as inspiring nymphs of springs they also possess the
gift
  of prophecy. They are closely related to Dionysus, to whose festivals dramatic poetry owed its origin and development. The
worship
  of the Muses had two
chief
  seatson the northern slope of Mt
Olympus
  in Pieria, and on the slope of Mt Helicon near Ascra and Thespiae in Boeotia. Their favourite haunts were the springs of Castalia, Aganippe and Hippocrene. From Boeotia their cult gradually spread over Greece. As the goddesses who presided over the nine principal departments of letters, their names and attributes were: Calliope, epic poetry (wax tablet and pencil); Euterpe, lyric poetry (the double
flute
 ); Erato, erotic poetry (a small lyre); Melpomene, tragedy (tragic mask and ivy wreath); Thalia, comedy (comic mask and ivy wreath); Polyhymnia (or Polymnia), sacred hymns (veiled, and in an attitude of thought); Terpsichore, choral song and the dance (the lyre); Clio, history (a scroll); Urania, astronomy (a
celestial
  globe). To these Arethusa was added as the muse of
pastoral
  poetry. The Roman poets identified the Greek Muses with the Italian Camenae (or Casmenae), prophetic nymphs of springs and goddesses of
birth
 , who possessed a grove near the Porta
Capena
  at Rome. One of the most famous of these was Egeria, the counsellor of King Numa.
See H. Deiters, Ueber die Verehrung der Musen bei den Griechen (1868); P. Decharme, Les Muses (1869); J. H. Krause, Die Musen (1871) ; F. Rodiger, Die Musen (1875); O. Navarre in Daremberg and Saglio's Dictionnaire des antiquites, and O. Bie in Roscher's Lexikon der Mythologic, the latter chiefly for representations of the Muses in art.


End of Article: MUSES, THE (Gr. Mo6o-at, the thinkers)


If you wish, you can link directly to this article.
<a href="http://jcsm.org/StudyCenter/Encyclopedia/MOS_NAN/MUSES_THE_Gr_Mo6o_at_the_think.html">
MUSES, THE (Gr. Mo6o-at, the thinkers)
</a>
(Previous)
MUSCULAR SYSTEM (Anatomy 1) 		(Next)
MUSET, COLIN (/l. 1200)

 


 

Jesus Christ Saves Ministries

The JCSM Study CenterAmerica's Christian FoundationSkeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and ExplainedNKJV Web Hosting and Services
JCSM's Sermons, Debates and the Bible on MP3The Online Christ-Centered MinistriesDo You Have A Web Site?  Your Ad Could Be Here!Seminary Notes and PapersThe Picturesque Photo Albums


Jesus Christ Saves Ministries, P.O. Box 70696, Pasadena, CA 91117

JCSM is a 501(c)(3), non-profit organization. Copyright © 1997-present.


Kingdom Debt Solutions - Be Debt Free! Sport Logos - Quality Athletic Equipment The JCSM Study Center Your Ad Could Be Here! Launch A Successful Internet Organization or Business! Learn Guitar, Bass, or Piano in San Diego county!

You can advertise your site right here!

Free & Cheap Cell Phones  |  Cheap Long Distance Phone Service Carriers  |  Talk America Local Phone Service  |  Ztel & MCI - Unlimited Long Distance
Compare Cell Phone Plans & Companies  |  International Calling Cards & Prepaid Phone Cards  |  Voice Over IP Broadband Internet Phone Service  |  Wireless Phone Plans & Cheap Cell Phones

Dr. Jason Gastrich

Jason Gastrich, Ph.D.

 

Jesus Christ Saves Ministries is directed by Dr. Jason Gastrich.  It was founded in 1997 and it exists to bring people into a life-changing and productive relationship with Jesus Christ.  JCSM offers over 200,000 free web pages, discussion boards, weekly html and mp3 devotionals, free email accounts, and much more.

Jesus Christ Saves Ministries
P.O. Box 9297
San Diego, CA  92169
1-877-850-3878 or Email

JCSM is a 501(c)(3), non-profit organization. Copyright © 1997-2008.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Online First Aid and CPR Certification  .  The Online Christ Centered Ministries  .  The Skeptic's Annotated Bible: Corrected and Explained  .  The Inerrancy Discussion Board  .  Free Email Accounts  .  Home Equity Loans  .  JasonGastrich.com  .  The Missions, Apologetics, and Creation Bible Conference  .  Young Earth Creation Science  .  San Diego Music Lessons  .  10,000 Wise Quotes and Spiritual Sayings  .  Gastrich.net  .  Maximizing the Internet: 12 Keys to Success  .  Louisiana Baptist University  .  NKJV Web Hosting and Services  .  Michael Newdow  .  San Diego Soccer Training  . Christian Guitar Lessons  .  Jesus Christ Saves Ministries  .  Eternal Security