Mosaic of the Muses, Roman Museum of Sabratha, Libya. by Sebastià Giralt
Make this site live for us in its many bearings, O Muse…
In the great book “The War of Art” by Steven Pressfield he details how he begins any creative venture by calling on the muses for success. He does this by reciting the opening lines from the T.E. Lawrence translation of The Odyssey; when Homer calls on the muses to speak through him and aid him in reciting the tale of the return of clever Odysseus to Ithaca. This seems like a good idea to me, especially for my first post. So here is my call on the nine muses for aid and inspiration for this blog, portfolio and podcast.
“O Divine Poesy, goddess, daughter of Zeus, sustain for me this song of the various-minded man, who, after he had plundered the innermost citadel of hallowed Troy, was made to stray grievously about the coasts of men, the sport of their customs, good and bad, while his heart, through all the seafaring, ached with an agony to redeem himself and bring his company safe home. Vain hope-for them. The fools! Their own witlessness cast them aside. To destroy for meat the oxen of the most exalted Sun, wherefore the Sun-god blotted out the day of their return. Make this tale live for us in all its many bearings, O Muse…”
– from the Odyssey, by Homer; Translated by T.E. Lawrence
Congratulations on the new site. I’m sure the Gods are smiling on it!
Nitpicking, I know, but it’s important: It’s ‘O Divine Poesy…’, same root as poem, poetry….I’m about certain that the gods only smile on entries in which the words are spelled correctly. Loved Pressfield’s book, by the way. Best on the blog.
Arrgghhh. Lets hope the Muses don’t mind a minor mistake! Thanks for the encouragement Jennifer & Belladonna.