And it gives a sense of purpose knowing that they’re servicing the world just by being as amazing as they are. It makes people feel good knowing they’re exquisite and mystifying enough to be what pushes someone’s talent forward. Throughout time, being identified has served as a compliment. For example, Polyhymnia was the muse of sacred poetry and Euterpe was the muse of music.Īn artist or poet preparing to begin work would call on a particular Muse to inspire him, and a poem itself might begin with such a call Homer’s Odyssey begins, “Sing to me of the man, Muse.” Each muse was connected to a different art form. In Greek mythology, the Muses were nine goddesses who presided over the arts, including music and literature. London: Routledge.“Muse” is a term used to describe someone who inspires the work of another. Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press London: William Heinemann, Ltd. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press London, William Heinemann Ltd. Pausanias, Description of Greece with an English Translation by W.H.S.Greek text available from the same website. Evelyn-White, Cambridge, MA.,Harvard University Press London, William Heinemann Ltd. Hesiod, Theogony from The Homeric Hymns and Homerica with an English Translation by Hugh G.Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica.

Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press London: William Heinemann, Ltd.

Diodorus Siculus, The Library of History translated by Charles Henry Oldfather.

Online version at the Topos Text Project.

Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica translated by Robert Cooper Seaton (1853-1915), R.

in 2 Volumes, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press London, William Heinemann Ltd.

Apollodorus, The Library with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S.

Įrato is also invoked at the start of book 7 of Virgil's Aeneid, which marks the beginning of the second half or 'Iliadic' section of the poem. The love story of Rhadine made her supposed tomb on the island of Samos a pilgrimage site for star-crossed lovers in the time of Pausanias and Erato was linked again with love in Plato's Phaedrus nevertheless, even in the third century BC, when Apollonius wrote, the Muses were not yet as inextricably linked to specific types of poetry as they became. She was also invoked at the beginning of a lost poem, Rhadine ( Ῥαδινή), that was referred to and briefly quoted by Strabo. Development Įrato was named with the other muses in Hesiod's Theogony.

Malus (eponym of Malea), as a bride and by him became the mother of Cleophema who bore Aegle ( Coronis) by Phlegyas. Other representations may show her holding a golden arrow, reminding one of the 'eros', the feeling that she inspires in everybody, and at times she is accompanied by the god Eros, holding a torch.Įrato was the daughter of Zeus and the Titaness Mnemosyne, and the sister to Calliope, Clio, Euterpe, Melpomene, Polyhymnia, Terpsichore, Thalia and Urania. In Simon Vouet's representations, two turtle-doves are eating seeds at her feet. Since the Renaissance she has mostly been shown with a wreath of myrtle and roses, holding a lyre, or a small kithara, a musical instrument often associated with Apollo. In the Orphic hymn to the Muses, it is Erato who charms the sight. Function Įrato is the Muse of lyric poetry, particularly erotic poetry, and mimic imitation. The name would mean 'desired' or 'lovely', if derived from the same root as Eros, as Apollonius of Rhodes playfully suggested in the invocation to Erato that begins Book III of his Argonautica. In Greek mythology, Erato ( / ˈ ɛr ə t oʊ/ Ancient Greek: Ἐρατώ) is one of the Greek Muses, which were inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts.

Muse of poetry