Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...

, Erato (; ) is one of the Greek

Muses In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, the Muses (, ) were the Artistic inspiration, inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric p ...

, the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. The name would mean "desired" or "lovely", if derived from the same root as

Eros Eros (, ; ) is the Greek god of love and sex. The Romans referred to him as Cupid or Amor. In the earliest account, he is a primordial god, while in later accounts he is the child of Aphrodite. He is usually presented as a handsome young ma ...

, as

Apollonius of Rhodes Apollonius of Rhodes ( ''Apollṓnios Rhódios''; ; fl. first half of 3rd century BC) was an ancient Greek literature, ancient Greek author, best known for the ''Argonautica'', an epic poem about Jason and the Argonauts and their quest for the Go ...

playfully suggested in the invocation to Erato that begins Book III of his ''

Argonautica The ''Argonautica'' () is a Greek literature, Greek epic poem written by Apollonius of Rhodes, Apollonius Rhodius in the 3rd century BC. The only entirely surviving Hellenistic civilization, Hellenistic epic (though Aetia (Callimachus), Callim ...

''.

Function

Erato is the Muse of lyric poetry, particularly erotic poetry, and mimic imitation. In the Orphic hymn to the Muses, it is Erato who charms the sight. Since the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

she has mostly been shown with a wreath of myrtle and

rose A rose is either a woody perennial plant, perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred Rose species, species and Garden roses, tens of thousands of cultivar ...

s, holding a

lyre The lyre () (from Greek λύρα and Latin ''lyra)'' is a string instrument, stringed musical instrument that is classified by Hornbostel–Sachs as a member of the History of lute-family instruments, lute family of instruments. In organology, a ...

, or a small

kithara The kithara (), Latinized as cithara, was an ancient Greek musical instrument in the yoke lutes family. It was a seven-stringed professional version of the lyre, which was regarded as a rustic, or folk instrument, appropriate for teaching mu ...

, a musical instrument often associated with

Apollo Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian deities in Ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek and Ancient Roman religion, Roman religion and Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, mu ...

. In Simon Vouet's representations, two turtle-doves are eating seeds at her feet. She is sometimes depicted holding a golden arrow, symbolizing "eros", the feeling she inspires in everybody; at times she is accompanied by

, holding a torch.

Family

In Hesiod's genealogy, Erato is the daughter of

Zeus Zeus (, ) is the chief deity of the List of Greek deities, Greek pantheon. He is a sky father, sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, who rules as king of the gods on Mount Olympus. Zeus is the child ...

and the Titaness

Mnemosyne In Greek mythology and ancient Greek religion, Mnemosyne (; , ) is the goddess of memory and the mother of the nine Muses by her nephew Zeus. In the Greek tradition, Mnemosyne is one of the Titans, the twelve divine children of the earth-godde ...

, and the sister to

Calliope In Greek mythology, Calliope ( ; ) is the Muse who presides over eloquence and epic poetry; so called from the ecstatic harmony of her voice. Hesiod and Ovid called her the "Chief of all Muses". Mythology Calliope had two famous sons, OrpheusH ...

Clio In Greek mythology, Clio ( , ; ), also spelled Kleio, Сleio, or Cleo, is the muse of history, or in a few mythological accounts, the muse of lyre-playing. Etymology Clio's name is derived from the Greek root κλέω/κλείω (meaning ...

Euterpe Euterpe (; , from + ) was one of the Muses in Greek mythology, presiding over music. In late Classical times, she was named muse of lyric poetry. She has been called "Giver of delight" by ancient poets. Mythology Euterpe was born as one of t ...

Melpomene Melpomene (; ) is the Muse of tragedy in Greek mythology. She is described as the daughter of Zeus and Mnemosyne (and therefore of power and memory) along with the other Muses, and she is often portrayed with a tragic theatrical mask. Etymolog ...

Polyhymnia Polyhymnia (; ), alternatively Polymnia (Πολύμνια), is, in Greek mythology, the Muse of sacred poetry, sacred hymn, dance and eloquence, as well as agriculture and pantomime. Etymology Polyhymnia name comes from the Greek words "poly" ...

Terpsichore In Greek mythology, Terpsichore (; , "delight in dancing") is one of the nine Muses and goddess of dance and chorus. She lends her name to the word " terpsichorean", which means "of or relating to dance". Appearance Terpsichore is usually d ...

, Thalia and

Urania Urania ( ; ; modern Greek shortened name ''Ránia''; meaning "heavenly" or "of heaven") was, in Greek mythology, the muse of astronomy and astrology. Urania is the goddess of astronomy and stars, her attributes being the globe and compass. T ...

. Her father gave Erato to Malus (eponym of Malea), as a bride and by him became the mother of Cleophema who bore Aegle ( Coronis) by Phlegyas. Isyllus, ''Hymn to Asclepius'
128.37 ff.
/ref>

Development

Erato was named with the other muses in

Hesiod Hesiod ( or ; ''Hēsíodos''; ) was an ancient Greece, Greek poet generally thought to have been active between 750 and 650 BC, around the same time as Homer.M. L. West, ''Hesiod: Theogony'', Oxford University Press (1966), p. 40.Jasper Gr ...

's ''

Theogony The ''Theogony'' () is a poem by Hesiod (8th–7th century BC) describing the origins and genealogy, genealogies of the Greek gods, composed . It is written in the Homeric Greek, epic dialect of Ancient Greek and contains 1,022 lines. It is one ...

''. She was also invoked at the beginning of a lost poem, ''Rhadine'' (), that was referred to and briefly quoted by

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-si ...

. The love story of Rhadine made her supposed tomb on the island of

Samos Samos (, also ; , ) is a Greek island in the eastern Aegean Sea, south of Chios, north of Patmos and the Dodecanese archipelago, and off the coast of western Turkey, from which it is separated by the Mycale Strait. It is also a separate reg ...

a pilgrimage site for star-crossed lovers in the time of Pausanias and Erato has linked again with love in

Plato Plato ( ; Greek language, Greek: , ; born BC, died 348/347 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical Greece, Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the writte ...

's '' Phaedrus''; nevertheless, even in the third century BC, when Apollonius wrote, the Muses were not yet as inextricably linked to specific types of poetry as they became.Richard Hunter, editor. ''Jason and the Golden Fleece'' (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1993), p. 66 note. Erato is also invoked at the start of book 7 of

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; 15 October 70 BC21 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Rome, ancient Roman poet of the Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Augustan period. He composed three of the most fa ...

's ''

Aeneid The ''Aeneid'' ( ; or ) is a Latin Epic poetry, epic poem that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Troy, Trojan who fled the Trojan War#Sack of Troy, fall of Troy and travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Ancient Rome ...

'', which marks the beginning of the second half or "Iliadic" section of the poem.

Notes

References

* Pseudo-Apollodorus. '' The Library''. Translated by Sir James George Frazer. 2 vols. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann Ltd. 1921. ISBN 0-674-99135-4
Online version
an
Greek text
at the Perseus Digital Library. *

Apollonius Rhodius Apollonius of Rhodes ( ''Apollṓnios Rhódios''; ; fl. first half of 3rd century BC) was an ancient Greek author, best known for the ''Argonautica'', an epic poem about Jason and the Argonauts and their quest for the Golden Fleece. The poem is ...

, ''Argonautica''. Translated by Robert Cooper Seaton. R. C. Loeb Classical Library Volume 1. London: William Heinemann. 1912
Online version at the Topos Text Project
* Apollonius Rhodius ''Argonautica''. George W. Mooney, ed. London. Longmans, Green. 1912
Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library
*

Diodorus Siculus Diodorus Siculus or Diodorus of Sicily (; 1st century BC) was an ancient Greece, ancient Greek historian from Sicily. He is known for writing the monumental Universal history (genre), universal history ''Bibliotheca historica'', in forty ...

. ''The Library of History''. Translated by

Charles Henry Oldfather Charles Henry Oldfather (13 June 1887 – 20 August 1954) was an American professor of Greek and Ancient History at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He was born in Tabriz, Qajar dynasty, Persia. Parentage Oldfather's parents, Jeremiah and Feli ...

. 12 vols.

Loeb Classical Library The Loeb Classical Library (LCL; named after James Loeb; , ) is a monographic series of books originally published by Heinemann and since 1934 by Harvard University Press. It has bilingual editions of ancient Greek and Latin literature, ...

. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann. 1989. Vol. 3. Books 4.59–8
Online version at Bill Thayer's web site at the University of Chicago
* Diodorus Siculus. ''Bibliotheca Historica''. Vol 1–2. Immanel Bekker, Ludwig Dindorf and Friedrich Vogel, eds. Leipzig: B. G. Teubner. 1888–1890
Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library
*

. ''Theogony''. In ''The Homeric Hymns and Homerica'' with an English translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann. 1914
Online version
an
Greek text
at the Perseus Digital Library. * Pausanias. ''Description of Greece''. English translation by W. H. S. Jones. 4 vols. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann. 1918.
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
* Pausanias, ''Graeciae Descriptio.'' 3 vols. Leipzig: Teubner. 1903
Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library
*

, ''The Geography of Strabo.'' Edition by H. L. Jones. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann. 1924
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
* Strabo, ''Geographica'', translated and edited by A. Meineke. Leipzig: Teubner. 1877
Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library

External links

Warburg Institute Iconographic Database
{{Authority control Muses (mythology) Ancient Greek poetry Ancient Greek erotic literature Children of Zeus Greek goddesses Music and singing goddesses Wisdom goddesses Music in Greek mythology Metamorphoses characters