Information about Urania, the Muse of Astronomy Urania was one of the young, beautiful maidens referred to as the Nine Muses. The nine Muses were the daughters of Zeus, the king of the gods, and Mnemosyne, the goddess of memory. The names of the nine Muses were Clio, Thalia, Erato, Euterpe, Polyhymnia, Calliope, Terpsichore, Urania and Melpomene. Urania and her sisters were believed to reside above the golden clouds that covered sacred the Greek mountain peaks above the summits of Mounts Olympus, Helicon, Parnassus, and Pindus. They entertained and joined the Olympian gods in their feasts drinking water, milk, and honey, but never wine. The sisters were originally the patron goddesses of poets and musicians but over time their roles extended to include comedy, tragedy, history, poetry, music, dancing, singing, rhetoric, sacred hymns, and harmony. Urania was the Muse of Astronomy. Picture of the Nine Muses Urania, the Muse of Astronomy According to the traditions and beliefs of the Ancient Greeks astronomers would invoke the aid of Urania was the Muse of Astronomy to guide and assist him in his work. The invocation took the form of a prayer for divine inspiration from the goddess. Many of the ideas of Ancient Greek astronomy were based upon theology and astronomers were also philosophers. The Ancient Greeks were concerned with what was happening and when, without addressing the reasons, other than vague attributions to the gods. Many of their energies were spent on predicting events like eclipses. Pythagoras (c.580–500 B.C.) is credited with proposing the idea of a spherical Earth and Moon and Aristotle believed that the Sun moved around Earth. Another ancient Greek astronomer, and the first notable Greek philosopher, was Thales, who lived at the beginning of the 6th Century BC and was credited with inventing trigonometry. Fabulae and the Poetica Astronomica were written by Hyginus. Astronomy was possibly written by Hesiod. The symbols of Urania are the globe and the compass and she is often depicted with stars and staring at the Heavens. Facts and pictures of Urania, the Muse of Astronomy The following fact file contains pictures of this Greek goddess and Muse and details her symbols and attributes. Facts, Pictures and Symbols of Urania Facts about Urania - Urania was the Muse who represented and was the patron of Astronomy and the constellations
- She was the daughter of Zeus and Mnemosyne
- She was the philosophical Muse
- She possessed the gift of prophecy by reading the stars
- Her name derives from the Greek word for 'heavenly'
- She was the youngest Muse
- Her symbols are the globe and the compass and she is usually depicted with in a cloak embroidered with stars, staring at the Heavens
- The alternative spelling of her name is Ourania
Picture of Urania Facts, Pictures and Symbols of Urania |