Apollo and the Muses

Among the Roman god Apollo’s alternate names were Dionysus, his Greek epithet; Phoebus, meaning “bright” and referencing his rule over the sun; and Musagetes, leader of the Muses. The Muses were goddesses of the poetic arts, all nine of them daughters of Jupiter (god of thunder) and Mnemosyne (goddess of memory). Apollo, center, appears here in his capacity as god of music, playing his lyre. At left, Apollo’s winged steed, Pegasus, is poised near the mythical spring Hippocrene, brought to life when Pegasus forcefully thrust his hoof into the ground. This spring, located on the Muses’ sacred Mount Helicon, was said to inspire poetry when its waters were consumed.