Muse summary

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Below is the article summary. For the full article, see Muse.

Muse, In Greco-Roman religion and myth, any of a group of sister goddesses, daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne (Memory). A festival was held in their honour every four years near Mount Helicon, the centre of their cult in Greece. They probably began as the patron goddesses of poets, though later their range was extended to include all the liberal arts and sciences. Nine Muses are usually named: Calliope (heroic or epic poetry), Clio (history), Erato (lyric or love poetry), Euterpe (music or flutes), Melpomene (tragedy), Polyhymnia (sacred poetry or mime), Terpsichore (dancing and choral song), Thalia (comedy), and Urania (astronomy).

Exekias: Greek amphora depicting Achilles slaying Penthesilea

Greek mythology Summary

Greek mythology, body of stories concerning the gods, heroes, and rituals of the ancient Greeks and Classical antiquity. That the myths contained a considerable element of fiction was recognized by the more critical Greeks, such as the philosopher Plato in the 5th–4th century bce. In general,

Roman religion Summary

Roman religion, beliefs and practices of the inhabitants of the Italian peninsula from ancient times until the ascendancy of Christianity in the 4th century ce, during a period known as Classical antiquity. The Romans, according to the orator and politician Cicero, excelled all other peoples in the

myth Summary

Myth, a symbolic narrative, usually of unknown origin and at least partly traditional, that ostensibly relates actual events and that is especially associated with religious belief. It is distinguished from symbolic behaviour (cult, ritual) and symbolic places or objects (temples, icons). Myths are