The nine muses of Greek mythology are the goddesses of song, dance, music, and poetry and were among the most important deities of the ancient Greek pantheon as the source of inspiration for poets. The most common and widespread belief was that the nine muses were the daughters of the Olympian god Zeus and the titan goddess of memory, Mnemosyne (which makes sense as the muses were also regarded as goddesses of knowledge who retained the knowledge of all that had come to pass).
The nine muses are Kalliope, the chief muse and responsible for epic poetry and rhetoric (and also known as the mother of gifted lyre player Orpheus), Kleio the goddess of history, Erato the goddess of erotic poetry and singing, Ourania the goddess of astronomy, Thaleia the goddess of comedy, Melpomene the goddess of tragedy, Euterpe the goddess of lyric poetry, Polymnia the goddess of religious hymns to the gods, and Terpsichore the goddess of dance.
