Today marks the Art day and it does not exist without inspiration or without the muses visiting us. We think of art when we name music, painting, dance, poetry, theater ... so today is a good time to tell your children who the muses are and on the way, learn some Greek mythology. It will also be quite easy for you to find artistic representations, which have been made through the centuries, of these characters.
What is clear is that the muses are female. We tell you here the story of these women, or nymphs or demigods who inspire art.
The myth of the muses
The muses are part of classical Greek mythology. That is, they are part of the beliefs of Ancient Greece. They are characters, very beautiful women, inspiring of poems, songs, dances.
At the beginning of time it was not known how many there were, but later they were consolidated as nine, and it was Hesiod, a great poet, who gave them names. Their names are: Calliope, Clio, Erato, Euterpe, Melpómene, Polimnia, Talía, Terpsícore, Urania. Like all stories the gods and Greek relationships have a divine birth. All muses are daughters of Zeus, the god of gods, and Mnemosyne, one of the Titanides.
Your role is to inspiring, both to artists, when creating their works, as well as to philosophers and kings so that they find the exact words in their speeches and the necessary attitudes to govern with justice.
What is each muse for
Each of the muses has a specialty. Inspiration is an explosion of creativity, which is not very clear where it comes from. The ancient Greeks believed that inspiration or enthusiasm came from one of the muses. We tell you what type of artist each one inspires:
- Calliope, the one with the beautiful voice. She is the muse of eloquence (to know how to express ideas well), beauty and epic poetry, rhetoric and writing.
- Clío is the muse of history, the one who inspires us to tell how historical events occurred.
- Erato is the muse of lyrical-love poetry.
- Euterpe is the muse of music, especially happy music.
- Melpomene is the muse of tragedy.
- Polymnia is the muse of sacred songs and poetry.
- Terpsichore is the muse of dance and choral poetry. Some legends say that she is the mother of mermaids. She also created the harp and education.
- Talía was the muse of comedy and bucolic poetry.
- Urania is the muse of astronomy, didactic poetry and the exact sciences, such as geometry, architecture, agriculture.
Stories, movies and books about the muses
Some of the stories that you can tell your children about the muses, and that you can do it in the form of a story, and is that after all, that is what mythology is the story of King Piero de Thrace. This king had 9 daughters who were called the Piérides. They all sang very well, so much so that they dared to challenge the muses in singing. They fought a battle of songs that ultimately the muses. In retaliation for defying them, the Greek muses transformed all the sisters into magpies. I can still hear how bad those birds sing and their horrible squawks.
Some children's movies and books they deal with these mythological stories and the role of the muses. One of these movies is Hercules from disney, in which these characters play a fundamental role and Terpsichore teaches the hero to dance. Of course, only five appear here and not nine.
If you want, we recommend a fun and easy-to-read children's book. This is Myths in 30 seconds by Anita Ganeri. In it you will find not only the stories of the muses, but many others and myths from various cultures around the world. We recommend that you read it aloud to the little ones, like a traditional storyteller.