Euterpe is the Goddess of Music and Lyric Poetry and a member of The Nine Muses in Greek Mythology.
Role and Significance[]
Euterpe is a member of The Nine Muses, a sisterhood of goddesses of memory, knowledge, the arts, science and creative inspiration in Greek Mythology with Euterpe's specialities being in Music and Lyric Poetry, these areas of expertise were assigned to her during the Classical era.
The Ancient Greeks believed The Nine Muses were capable of bestowing mortals with artistic gifts, assisting them in their creative endeavours and giving healing and comfort to the ill and/or heartbroken. The Muses were believed to help people achieve great things in general and were worshipped across Greece with their biggest cults being located in Pieria in Makedonia and Mount Helikon in Boeotia, which was also believed to be their home. The Castalian Spring near Delphoi was considered sacred to the sisters too.
Genealogy and Family[]
Euterpe was born as one of the nine daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne, with Calliope, Clio, Erato, Polyhymnia, Terpsichore, Melpomene, Thalia and Urania, she and her sisters are collectively called 'The Nine Muses'. Their many paternal half siblings include Athena, Artemis, Apollo, Ares, Hephaestus, Hermes, Persephone and Dionysus.
According to some sources, Euterpe's lover was a river god, Strymon with whom she had one son, Rhesus, a mythical king of Thrace.
Stories[]
Euterpe and the other eight Muses were conceived in nine days and nine months later would be birthed by their mother, Mnemosyne, another tradition however claims that she and her sisters had merged from the springs of Mount Helikon, after Pegasus stamped his hooves on the ground and Athena would later hand Pegasus to the nine. In this account they are also water nymphs.
The Muses lived on the summits of Mounts Helicon, Parnassus, Pindus, or Olympus. They haunted the wells, springs and fountains of these rocky summits, which were sacred to them and to poetic inspiration and were lead and taught by their elder half-brother, Apollo, god of the sun, healing, prophecy, truth, light, music and a member of The Twelve Olympians, who helped them develop their talents.
In one myth, the Muses judged a contest between Apollo and Marsyas. They also gathered the pieces of the dead body of Orpheus, son of Calliope, and buried them in Leivithra. In a later myth, Thamyris challenged them to a singing contest. They won and punished Thamyris by blinding him and robbing him of his singing ability.
According to a myth from Ovid's Metamorphoses—alluding to the connection of Pieria with the Muses—Pierus, king of Macedon, had nine daughters he named after the nine Muses, believing that their skills were a great match to the Muses. He thus challenged the Muses to a match, resulting in his daughters, the Pierides, being turned into chattering jays (with κίσσα often erroneously translated as 'magpies') for their presumption.
Relationships[]
Skills and Abilities[]
As a Muse goddess, Euterpe has eternal youth, immortality and perfect health, as such she is immune to tiredness, old age and any diseases or illnesses mortals suffer with.
Titles and Epithets[]
Like the other Muses, Euterpe was given epithets based on where she lived, these included: Aganippides, Aonides, Camenae, Castaliae, Libethrides, Mnemonides, Pimpleae or Pimpleides, Ilisides, Meones, Pegasides, Pierides, Ardalides, Cytherides, Ianthiae and Partheniai.
Symbols[]
Her symbol is the double-flute.
Personality[]
Appearance[]
Depicted as a beautiful, young woman, she is often seen playing a double flute (aulos), that she invented that herself.
Gallery[]
Euterpe/gallery
Trivia[]
Euterpe's official Greek name is Ευτερπη, it means "well pleasing" or "giver of much delight".