The nine Muses were born in Pieria at the base of Mount Olympus. Their mother, Mnemosene, was a mortal woman who Zeus slept with after he married the goddess Hera. Therefore the nine Muses are demi-gods. The story originated as three Muses being born and over time it became known as the nine Muses. The Muses each were assigned a specific literary or artistic sphere. Polyhymnia was assigned music and poetry. She was oftenreferredto as "She of many hymns". Her sister Calliope was assigned to be the muse of Epic Poetry. She was the eldest of her sisters. Polyhymnia was the youngest. Clio was the muse of history and Erato was the muse of Love Poetry. Euterpe was the muse of music in general. Melpomene was addressed as the muse oftragedy. Her sister Terpsichore was named the muse of dancing and Thalia was called the muse of comedy. Lastly Urania was appointed to be the muse of astronomy.
Calliope's emblem is the writing tablet. Clio's emblem is scrolls. Erato's emblem is cithara, a lyre like instrument. Euterpe's emblem is aulos, a Greek flute. Melpomene's emblem is the tragic mask. Polyhymnia's emblem is a veil. Terpsichore's emblem is the lyre. Thalia's emblem is the comedy mask. Urania's emblem is the globe and compass.
The three original muses were Aode, Mneme, and Melete. They originated from Boeotia. Aode was the muse of song. Mneme was the muse of memory and Melete was the muse of meditation. They were in the Titanis group of muses, also known as the Mousai Titanides. The nine muses were ofMnemosyne, meaning memory. They were also known as the Olympian muses. Zeus, the god of all the Greek gods and goddesses, favored the nine muses who praised him over the three original muses.
The nine Olympian Muses followed the sun god,Apollo, although they were constantly praising Zeus. They thought of Apollo as their leader and were often depicted with him by their side. Aphrodite is also depicted with them a lot in artwork. She was said to be very fond of the nine Olympian muses.
Apollo, the Sun god and the muses leader who directs their choir.
Melpomene gave birth to the sirens, whom the muses had a singing competition with. The muses, the creators of music therefore could never be defeated, won the competition and with their victory they plucked the feathers off of the sirens, making a crown of their feathers to sit upon their heads.
The Story Of The Sirens
The sirens were born the daughters of one of the muses. They became close friends with Demeter's daughter,Persephone. One day Persephone was stolen from Demeter right under the sirens' noses. Hades had taken her to his domain, the underworld, to be his wife. Demeter in despair gave the sirens wings to look for her daughter. So the sirens had the body of a bird but the head of a young woman. They searched near and far for Persephone but with no luck. Returning to Demeter, Demeter cursed them. They were banished from the god's realm and were to live eternity in the ocean's depths. With this the sirens became depressed. They had loved to sing, but with depression forever in their hearts and soul, their songs became sad as well. Later on the sirens had a singing competition with the muses and upon losing, their feather's were plucked off to make victory crowns for the muse's. With their feather's gone, all that was left was their human form, but with their sadness, the curse from Demeter and the ocean as their eternal home, they sprouted fish tails for legs. It is said that if you ever cross paths with a siren in the seas, that you will be struck dumb and climb overboard to get closer to the siren. Their songs are said to be alluring and enchanting, bringing sailors to their death. Sometimes sailor's will call it sea madness.
