The Muses The Muses are the Greek goddesses who preside over the arts and sciences and inspire those who excel at these pursuits. Daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne ("memory"), they were born in Pieria on the foot of Mount Olympus. Their nurse, Eupheme, raised them along with her son, Crotus the hunter , who was transported into the sky as Sagittarius upon his death. Their name denotes 'memory' or 'a reminder', since in earlier times poets having no books to read from, relied on their memories. The original number of muses and their names vary. At first, three muses were worshipped on Mount Helicon in Boeotia: Melete ("meditation"), Mneme ("memory"), an