Evolution of Muses

August 7th, 2023

It might be unthinkable, but I consider the Muses to be tangible creatures — located somewhere between the idea and the being and having the essence of both. All art is a human creation, but it hinges on the gift of superhuman origin and inspiration. All art reflects some form of universal experience and universal knowledge on the road to the final wisdom and form. And the path to that goal can be found in whispers of direction provided by messengers of that primeval and final singularity.

On a recent rereading of Theogony by Hesiod, I was struck by his description of the Muses as tangibly knowledgeable to us humans and as messengers of divine mission who accost few chosen ones (or most stubborn ones) and provide guidance to reach the absolute in creation in form and message. He uses the word angeloi = messengers (in Greek) for their description and here we have another example of appropriation of pagan ideas into Christian theology.

The angels of monotheism are nothing more (or less) than the Nine Muses of myths more ancient than the fables of the dominant religions of the Western world. The angels usurped the meaning of the Muses as divine messengers, but in turn, the Muses usurped the visual aspect of the presentation of humanistic enthusiasm — especially in the Renaissance — providing a rich tapestry of symbols for painters and poets. It might be uncouth and naively simplistic to give any weight to the Muses (or Angels) in the current times, but I strongly believe that a divine spark is still needed for the act of creation and still is provided for a few lucky ones.