Muses, The

Muses, The, daughters of Zeus and Mnemosynë, presided over the liberal arts particularly, were nine in number, and dwelt along with Apollo near Parnassus, Pieria, and Helicon; Clio presided over history, Euterpë over music, Thalia over comedy, Melpomenë over tragedy, Terpsichorë over choral dance and song, Erato over erotic poetry and elegy, Polyhymnia over lyric poetry, Urania over astronomy, and Calliopë over eloquence and epic poetry.

Definition taken from The Nuttall Encyclopædia, edited by the Reverend James Wood (1907)