You may see a lyre in the hands of one of the muses. […] Poets used to pray to them; and they fancied they could not make good verses, unless one of the Muses would assist them. […] “All the Muses, and all the Pierides, sung by turns; but the nymphs decided that the daughters of Memory (the Muses) surpassed their rivals. […] They said the Muses were selfish, and the nymphs were partial. […] Sometimes Apollo was described as dwelling with the gods upon Olympus, with a lyre in his hand, and sometimes surrounded by the Muses on Mount Parnassus.
He approached the place from whence the sound seemed to issue, and recognized the nine muses, children of Jupiter and Mnemosyne. […] Among their possessions, the Muses and Apollo had a winged horse, named Pegasus. […] While the courser was thus occupied, Apollo mounted his back, placed the Muses with him, and Pegasus, lifting his wings, carried them to the court of Bacchus. […] Notwithstanding the high reputation of the Muses, it is pretended by some, that Rheseus was the son of Terpsichore, Linus of Clio, and Orpheus of Calliope. Arion and Pindar were also stated to be the children of the Muses, to whom the Romans built a temple and consecrated a fountain.
The name of the Muses is generally supposed to have been derived from the Greek muein, to explain the mysteries. […] Who were the Muses? […] By what appellation were the Muses distinguished? […] The jealous Juno inspired them with the perfidious idea of challenging the nine Muses in singing. […] The poets painted this temple as the ordinary residence of Apollo and the Muses.
Aganapidi. — Con questo nome venivano designate le nove muse, dalla fontana Aganippe a loro consacrata. […] Coll’andare del tempo tutta la catena di montagne fu consacrata alle muse, e il gruppo intero fu detto Monti Aonidi. […] Aonidi. — Soprannome dato alle muse da alcune montagne della Beozia. […] Ardalidi. — Soprannome dato alle Muse da Ardalo figlio di Vulcano, a cui si attribuisce l’invenzione del flauto. […] La favola racconta che il poeta fosse stato rapito dalle muse mentre custodiva un armento sul monte Elicona.
II del Paradiso ; ma ivi parlò con figura poetica, e prese per sue stelle polari le Muse : « E nove Muse mi dimostran l’Orse. » In greco Orsa dicesi arctos, dalla qual voce è derivato l’appellativo di polo artico, ossia dell’Orsa, e antartico, opposto all’Orsa.
C’est dans ces beaux lieux, au milieu d’un bois de lauriers, qu’on le représentait, entouré des Muses, filles de Jupiter et de Mnémosyne, auxquelles il se plaisait à enseigner les sciences et les arts dans lesquels il excellait. […] Erato était la muse de la poésie lyrique. […] Terpsichore est la muse de la danse ; on la représente avec l’apparence de l’enjouement et de la vivacité, tenant entre ses mains une harpe au son de laquelle elle dirige ses pas en cadence. Pégase jouait aussi un rôle important dans la suite d’Apollon ; c’était un cheval ailé qui paissait dans le vallon sacré habité par le Dieu des vers et par les Muses. […] — Qu’était-ce que les Muses, et quelles étaient les attributions de chacune d’elles ?