Nikodemos
Legacy Name: Nikodemos

You hear a loud shout and the sound of books falling as you enter the library. Running to the scene of the incident, you see a middle-aged man lying on his back, surrounded by and under a bunch of books and parchments. You immediately help him get up and put his books back. He laughs at what just happened and cleans off his monocle before putting it back on.

My books love me so much they can't stay on their shelves like good books. Have you come for information on the ancient wisdom of the Greeks and Romans? I am well read on everything from the rise and fall of the Roman Empire to the tragedy of Pompeii. Of course this is common knowledge. Tell me, have you ever heard of a Muse? No? This information is not so common. Now, where did I put that book?

He looks all over for a book and trips over a book, almost causing another avalanche of books.

Oh, here it is! Books can be funny little objects.
He goes off on a tangent about something rather silly that he found. You interrupt him politely and ask him what a Muse is.Oh yes, pardon me. Now, the ancient Romans had many gods and goddesses to explain the many things that happened that they could not explain. A terrible storm was believed to be caused by Zeus. A storm at sea was believed to have been caused by his brother, Posiden. Artemis was believed to have caused plagues and death to mortals. I think you understand pretty well. The Muses were the daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne. Yes, I know Zeus had a wife named Hera. It was widely known that Zeus had many mates and children; Hercules being one of his children. Did you know that it was widely believed that there was a child of Zeus in almost every village in Rome?

As he launches into story about Hercules, you stop him and ask him to go on with the Muse story.Oh sorry. I was talking about that. There is not only one Muse, but nine. Now originally, there were only three, but since nine were mentioned in Homer, that is the number that has prevailed through the ages. Each muse has their own symbolic object.

He takes you to a shelf on the wall where nine statues sit and points to each one as he says the name
Erato, a name thought to be derived from 'eros' and means 'lovely' or 'desired'. She is the muse of lyric poetry; most of all, love and erotic poetry. Her symbol is the lyre.

Clio, the Muse of history. This one is pretty self explanatory. Her name translates to 'proclaimer' as in recounting or retelling what has passed. You could say that I have been visited by Clio myself, since I am so clearly gifted in understanding history. He chuckles and goes on

Melpomene, the Muse of tragedy. She was originally the muse of singing, because her name translates to 'one that is melodious'. You can get what her symbol is. Yes, a drama mask. The Romans were the very inventive to create drama.

Thalia. Now here is a fun one. She is the Muse of comedy and Idyllic poetry. Now Idyllic poetry is basically a short poem that describes rustic life. Remember the Pastoral from that movie, Fantasia; with the unicorns, centaurs, pegasi, and fauns? That is basically all Roman mythology there.

He begins to talk about the Disney movie, Fantasia, and what a great masterpiece it was. Before he is able to get into too much detail, you stop him and put him back on track.
Oh yes. Im sorry. Where were we? Ah, Thalia's symbol is a comedic mask. There are statues of her I found that portray her as holding a bugle or something else about theater.

Calliope is the Muse of epic poetry. No, not epic as the way you know it; rather as in a great story that would be passed down from generations, great stories. Her symbol is a writing tablet, as she inspires great masterpieces of literature.

The great Muse of sacred poetry, sacred hymns, and dance is Polyhymnia. She is depicted as being serious, contemplative, or pensive. Curiously, unlike all the other Muses she has no tangible symbol. She just holds her finger to her mouth, calling for peace; although some depictions of her include a veil. Oh, also she can be referred to as the Muse of geometry and meditation. Now let me tell you, geometry is not relaxing.

Catches a look from you that gives him the hint he better stay on track. He clears his throat, adjusts his monocle, and looks at the next statue.
Now, Terpsichore is the Muse of dance. Her name translates into 'delight in dancing' and reigns over the arts of ballet and dramatic chorus. Do you know what a dramatic chorus is? It is basically like what we would call an opera. I love opera. Anyway, her symbol is the lyre and is usually sitting down to provide music for ballerinas.

Euterpe is the Muse of music, who was later named the lyric poetry. Her name has the meaning of 'rejoicing well' or 'delight' and so she was often called 'giver of delight'. The flute is the instrument she is usually carrying. A few historians say she invented what is called a double flute, but there is much speculation to that.

Last but not least in any way is Urania, the Muse of astronomy. She is also the great granddaughter of Uranus. It is worth mentioning that all the planets of the solar system are named after Greek gods. It is interesting because they say she inherited her father's power and majesty and her mother's grace and beauty. Being a Muse of astronomy, she can predict the future by the arrangement of stars, probably where we get astrology from. She usually holds a small globe in her hand while looking up at the heavens.

He looks at you with a smile. You are rather impressed he kept to his subject rather well, considering there are days where his tangents lead to other tangents and soon the class period goes by without him having talked about the relevant information to the class. You thank him for the information and ask for the book in his hand as well as books pertinent to Muses for your research paper. As you leave with the books in hand you swear you could see him smiling more brightly.

A clumsy and absent-minded historian, Nikodemos grew up fascinated with stories of ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. Olympus, gods and goddesses, titans, and mythical monsters fascinated him as a child. As he got older, he studied hard and learned everything he could from ancient times and became one of the most knowledgeable scholars of his time. Then he found a strange artifact. It was clear to him that it was very special for he'd never seen anything like it before. It didn't look too special upon quick inspection, but when he looked at the base of the statue, he found the Latin language. Terpsichore, Musa chorea . In all his years studying ancient languages, he knew what it meant right away. Terpsichore, the Muse of Dance. This was something he didn't hear much of. What he found inspired him. He then searched the world for clues to find the other eight Muses.

Pet overlay - Tomorrow
Coding -sonata
Latin from Google Translator.
Information about the Muses inspired from Wikipedia.