This painting, by the American artist Henry Siddons Mowbray (c. 1858–1928), strives to depict a Muse of Literature from ancient Greek and Roman mythology. Muses were the daughters of the high-god, Zeus, and the goddess, Mnemosyne (Memory). Nine in number, the Muses served as goddesses of arts, sciences and creativity. Literature, of course, fell under the divine authority of the Muses. There is a problem, however, with Mowbray’s Muse of Literature—this all-encompassing literary muse did not exist. To the contrary, in ancient history and myth, there was no singular muse in charge of all literature. Instead, there were several literary muses who oversaw different genres of literature. An ancient Greek poet named Hesiod (c. 8th century BCE) is thought to have been the first person to provide the canonical names of the muses. He wrote, “the Muses sang, who dwell in Olympus, the nine daughters born of great Zeus, Clio and Euterpe and Thaleia and Melpomene, Terpsichore and Erato and Polyhymnia and Urania, and Calliope, who is chief among them all” (Hesiod, Theogony, approximately lines 76-79). Of the sisters, only two had nothing to do with literature—Euterpe was the Muse of flute playing, and Urania was the Muse of Astronomy. The rest of the Muses, Calliope, Terpsichore, Erato, Melpomene, Thalia, Polyhymnia and Clio, were all linked in some way to literary composition. Calliope was the Muse of epic poetry, while Terpsichore and Erato governed forms of lyric poetry. Polyhymnia, in fitting with her name, was a Muse of hymns. Melpomene and Thalia were theatrical Muses, the former overseeing tragedy and the latter championing comedy. Finally, Clio was the Muse of history. As the overarching term of literature covers verse and prose, fiction and non-fiction, then Calliope, Terpsichore, Erato, Melpomene, Thalia, Polyhymnia and Clio could all be considered Muses of literature.
Henry Siddons Mowbray’s Muse of Literature was a part of a series of Muse paintings, so certain other specific Muses from the nine sisters can be eliminated as to which Muse of Literature is represented in the artwork above. Along with the painting featured here, Mowbray also created artworks entitled Muse of Comedy, Muse of Tragedy, Muse of Lyric Poetry and Muse of Music, among others. Therefore, Terpsichore, Erato, Polyhymnia, Melpomene and Thalia can all likely be eliminated from being Mowbray’s Muse of Literature. This leaves Clio, the Muse of history, and Calliope (the Muse of epic poetry) as the likeliest suspects for the Muse depicted above. As Calliope was chief among the Muses, one would expect her to be the one more likely to receive the title of Muse of Literature. Yet, Calliope and ancient epic poets were often also associated with music. The Roman writer, Ovid (43 BCE-17 CE), imagined Calliope playing a lyre and reciting one of her epic tales with the following words:
“Calliope. She, with her flowing hair in ivy wreath,
rose up and strummed a few plangent chords to test her lyre strings,
then firmly plucked them to launch at once on the following lay.”
(Ovid, Metamorphoses, 5.335-340)
As the painting presents a Muse that is more of a bookworm than a musical bard, that could be potentially taken as evidence that the Muse may be Clio instead of Calliope. Nevertheless, Mowbray left the name and title of his Muse of Literature vague for a reason. Calliope, Clio, or an ambiguous allegorical figure, the identity of the Muse of Literature is ultimately left up to the beholder of the painting.
Written by C. Keith Hansley
Sources:
- Theogony and Works and Days by Hesiod, translated by M. L. West. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988, 1999, 2008.
- Metamorphoses by Ovid. Translated by David Raeburn. Penguin Classics; Revised Edition, 2004.
- The Oxford Dictionary of Classical Myth and Religion, edited by Simon Price and Emily Kearns. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003.
- https://artgallery.yale.edu/collections/objects/2715
