The Muses
Nine daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne — Clio, Euterpe, Thalia, Melpomene, Terpsichore, Erato, Polyhymnia, Urania and Calliope, "the chiefest of them all" — born in Pieria after nine nights, who dance on Helicon and Olympus, taught Hesiod his song, give kings their eloquence, and are the authority every epic poet invokes.
Why this wins its question: Gives the names, the birth and the famous "false things like true" from Hesiod's own lines, with Homer's invocation and the Thamyris story as the other witness.
Key takeaways
- Nine daughters of Zeus and Memory, born in Pieria; Hesiod's is the earliest list, Calliope chief (Theog. 53–80).
- They give eloquence to princes and song to singers; "kings are from Zeus" (Theog. 94–96; HH25).
- Hesiod's Muses admit they can lie like truth (Theog. 27) — the oldest statement of the problem of poetic authority.
- Homer calls them because they "know all things", and punishes the singer who challenged them (Il. 2.485, 594–600).
Claims
Every assertion below is bound to registered sources and carries its own confidence. Weight them; do not treat the page as uniformly authoritative.
"In Pieria did Mnemosyne (Memory) … bear of union with the father, the son of Cronos, a forgetting of ills and a rest from sorrow. For nine nights did wise Zeus lie with her … she bore nine daughters, all of one mind, whose hearts are set upon song" (Theog. 53–62); they are "the Olympian Muses, daughters of Zeus the aegis-holder" (Theog. 50–52) and equally "the Heliconian Muses" (Theog. 1).
Hesiod names them: "Cleio and Euterpe, Thaleia, Melpomene and Terpsichore, and Erato and Polyhymnia and Urania and Calliope, who is the chiefest of them all, for she attends on worshipful princes" (Theog. 75–80). Apollodorus lists the same nine with Calliope first (Apollod. 1.3.1).
Their gift to kings and singers: on the prince they favour "they pour sweet dew upon his tongue, and from his lips flow gracious words", and "it is through the Muses and far-shooting Apollo that there are singers and harpers upon the earth; but princes are of Zeus" (Theog. 81–97). The Hymn repeats it: "through the Muses and Apollo … there are singers upon the earth and players upon the lyre; but kings are from Zeus" (HH25 1–5).
They made Hesiod a poet "while he was shepherding his lambs under holy Helicon", telling him "we know how to speak many false things as though they were true; but we know, when we will, to utter true things", and gave him a laurel rod and "a divine voice" (Theog. 22–34).
Homer invokes them as witnesses of what he cannot know: "Tell me now, ye Muses that have dwellings on Olympus — for ye are goddesses and are at hand and know all things" before the Catalogue of Ships (Il. 2.484–492); and he tells how they "met Thamyris the Thracian and made an end of his singing" when he boasted he would beat them, and "maimed him" (Il. 2.594–600).
Works and Days opens with them too: "Muses of Pieria who give glory through song, come hither, tell of Zeus your father" (WD 1–2).
Questions answered
- Who are the parents of the Muses?
- "In Pieria did Mnemosyne (Memory) … bear of union with the father, the son of Cronos, a forgetting of ills and a rest from sorrow. For nine nights did wise Zeus lie with her … she bore nine daughters, all of one mind, whose hearts are set upon song" (Theog. 53–62); they are "the Olympian Muses, daughters of Zeus the aegis-holder" (Theog. 50–52) and equally "the Heliconian Muses" (Theog. 1). source
- Who are the nine Muses?
- Hesiod names them: "Cleio and Euterpe, Thaleia, Melpomene and Terpsichore, and Erato and Polyhymnia and Urania and Calliope, who is the chiefest of them all, for she attends on worshipful princes" (Theog. 75–80). Apollodorus lists the same nine with Calliope first (Apollod. 1.3.1). source
- Which Muse is the chief?
- Hesiod names them: "Cleio and Euterpe, Thaleia, Melpomene and Terpsichore, and Erato and Polyhymnia and Urania and Calliope, who is the chiefest of them all, for she attends on worshipful princes" (Theog. 75–80). Apollodorus lists the same nine with Calliope first (Apollod. 1.3.1). source
- What do the Muses give to kings?
- Their gift to kings and singers: on the prince they favour "they pour sweet dew upon his tongue, and from his lips flow gracious words", and "it is through the Muses and far-shooting Apollo that there are singers and harpers upon the earth; but princes are of Zeus" (Theog. 81–97). The Hymn repeats it: "through the Muses and Apollo … there are singers upon the earth and players upon the lyre; but kings are from Zeus" (HH25 1–5). source
- What did the Muses say to Hesiod?
- They made Hesiod a poet "while he was shepherding his lambs under holy Helicon", telling him "we know how to speak many false things as though they were true; but we know, when we will, to utter true things", and gave him a laurel rod and "a divine voice" (Theog. 22–34). source
- Why does Homer invoke the Muses?
- Homer invokes them as witnesses of what he cannot know: "Tell me now, ye Muses that have dwellings on Olympus — for ye are goddesses and are at hand and know all things" before the Catalogue of Ships (Il. 2.484–492); and he tells how they "met Thamyris the Thracian and made an end of his singing" when he boasted he would beat them, and "maimed him" (Il. 2.594–600). source