Nine Muses
Remarkable fine art in the Emperor's palace of Achilleion, Corfu/Kerkyra
Situated in the Village of Gastouri, near the capital city of Kerkyra, The Achilleion Palace was inhabited by two prominent figures from European history: Empress Elisabeth of Austria – Sissi, and Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany. She built the palace to escape from tragedies in her life; he purchased it after her untimely death, but a war never allowed him to enjoy it. The garden surrounding the palace is in every way equal, if not more interesting. It is often called Garden of Statues. The Peristyle of the Muses is of the Ionic style and took its name from the statues of the nine muses. Some of the statues were bought by the Austrian consul in Corfu/Kerkyra, Alexander Warsberg, from Naples, other by the Empress Elizabeth from Villa Borgese in Rome.
In Greek mythology muses are a sisterhood of goddesses, who embody the arts and inspire creativity with their graces through song, stage, writing, music and dance. Muses are all daughters of the king of the gods Zeus and the goddess of memory Mnemosyne.
Melpomene (chanting one) – Muse of tragedy. |
Terpsichore (one, who delights in dance) – Muse of choral song and dance. |
Euterpe (well-pleasing one) – Muse of music and lyric poetry. |
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Urania (celestial one) – Muse of astronomy. |
Thalia (blossoming one) – Muse of comedy and bucolic poetry. |
Erato (amorous one) – Muse of love or erotic poetry, lyrics, and marriage songs. |
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Clio (glorious one) – Muse of history. |
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Polyhymnia (singer of many hymns) – Muse of sacred song, oratory, lyric, singing and rhetoric. |
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Calliope (beautiful of speech one) – Chief of the muses and muse of epic or heroic poetry. |
Plamen Antonov
5 Jun 2008
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