THE TWELVE OLYMPIANS: ZEUS, HERA, AND THEIR CHILDREN 125
gives birth to the Muses, the patronesses of literature and the arts; thus allegor-
ically Memory with divine help produces inspiration. The opening section of
Hesiod's Theogony, which is devoted primarily to the Muses, is translated in the
Additional Reading at the end of Chapter 3. The home of the Muses is often lo-
cated in Pieria in northern Thessaly near Mt. Olympus,^21 or about the fountain
Hippocrene on Mt. Helicon in Boeotia. The Muses (their name means "the re-
minders") may originally have been water spirits with the power of prophecy
and then inspiration, imagined from the babbling of waters as they flow. They
are supreme in their fields, and those who dare to challenge them meet with de-
feat and punishment. In this respect they resemble Apollo, with whom they are
often associated. The number of the Muses is not consistent, but later authors
usually identify nine of them, each with a specific function, although assign-
ments will vary. Calliope presides over epic poetry; Clio, history (or lyre play-
ing); Euterpe, lyric poetry (or tragedy and flute playing); Melpomene, tragedy
(or lyre playing); Terpsichore, choral dancing (or flute playing); Erato, love po-
etry (or hymns to the gods and lyre playing); Polyhymnia, sacred music (or danc-
ing); Urania, astronomy; Thalia, comedy.
In the Homeric Hymn to the Muses and Apollo (25), the great deity Apollo is
invoked along with them because as god of music, poetry, and the arts he is of-
ten their associate.
f
With the Muses, let me begin, and with Apollo and Zeus. For through the Muses
and far-shooting Apollo, human beings on earth are poets and musicians; but
through Zeus, they are kings. Blessed are the ones whom the Muses love; sweet
is the sound that flows from their lips.
Hail, children of Zeus, and give honor to my song; yet I shall remember you
and another song too.The Three Fates, Daughters of Zeus and Themis. Zeus is sometimes said to be the
father of the Fates (Greek, Moirai; Parcae for the Romans) as a result of his union
with Themis. Night and Erebus are also said to be their parents. The Fates are
originally birth spirits who often came to be depicted as three old women re-
sponsible for the destiny of every individual. Clotho ("Spinner") spins out the
thread of life, which carries with it the fate of each human being from the mo-
ment of birth; Lachesis ("Apportioner") measures the thread; and Atropos ("In-
flexible"), sometimes characterized as the smallest and most terrible, cuts it off
and brings life to an end. On occasion they can be influenced to alter the fate
decreed by their labors, but usually the course of the destiny that they spin is
irrevocable.
Fate is often thought of in the singular (Greek, Moira), in a conception that
is much more abstract and more closely linked to a profound realization of the
roles played by Luck or Fortune (Tyche) and Necessity (Ananke) in the scheme
of human life. The relation of the gods to destiny is variously depicted and in-
triguing to analyze in the literature. According to some authors Zeus is supreme