Mnemosyne: Remembering the Titan Muse

My own version of Mnemosyne.

"Mnemosyne I call, the Queen, consort of Zeus, Mother of the sacred, holy and sweet-voiced Muses. Ever alien to her is evil oblivion that harms the mind, she holds all things together in the same dwelling place, in the mind and soul of mortals, she strengthens the powerful ability of humans to think. 

Most sweet, vigilant, she reminds us of all the thoughts that each one of us is for ever storing in our hearts, overlooking nothing, rousing everyone to consciousness. But, blessed goddess, awaken for the initiates the memory of the sacred rite, and ward off forgetfulness from them."

- Orphic Hymn to Mnemosyne

People nowadays only recall Mnemosyne as the mother of the more famous Muses. Or perhaps as the root word of the word mnemonics. But there's more to her than that. She was a Titan princess, an ancient diva and a really foxy lady.

'In Loving Memory' of Mnemosyne

Please don't be misled by the title, Mnemosyne did not just die. In fact, she was one of only a few Titans whose blessing stayed with mankind the longest. Why so? Because Mnemosyne is MEMORY, that one gift that distinguishes us, humans, from other creatures in the world.

A little information about her family, she was a principal Titaness, daughter of Father Uranus and Mother Gaea. She had no legal husband, but was 'god-fondled' by Zeus from whom she became the mother of the NINE muses, patronesses of the arts. If you're curious about this affair, just read on. I'm gonna tell their story later.

Also, aside from her hall in Othrys (the home of the Titans), Mnemosyne used to own a villa on the hills of Eleuther. It was where she conceived her nine lovely daughters (Source).

Memoirs of a Diva. Once upon a time, Mnemosyne was a member of the divine trio (at one time a quartet, even a quintet) known as the TITAN MUSES. As daughters of King Uranus and the goddesses of music, they were like the most famous superstars of that time. The band was composed of:

• Melete, the Muse of Practice;
• Aoide, the Muse of Song; and
• Mneme (Mnemosyne's 'nickname'), the Muse of Memory

(Fans back then must have realized that just saying her name can be a real pain in the ass so they had to call her something shorter and easier to remember. Orz)

The other two former members of the group were:

• Arche, the Muse of Beginning; and
• Thelxinoe, the Muse of Charm.

As a diva goddess, Mnemosyne possessed great powers in the strength of her voice, enabling her to create sonic effects to shatter glass or to hypnotize others with a word (Source). Just imagine modern rock concerts  having the same effect.

On a more serious note, Mnemosyne used this gift to give kings and poets their powers of authoritative speech. In Rome, the name Moneta served as her cognate derived from Latin monēre (which means to remind, warn, or instruct).

Being her Uranus' favorite daughter, Mnemosyne was so affected by her father's ousting that she did not readily accept the position in the Titan Council offered to her by Cronus. Her office was filled in by the Oceanid Dione until the time Mnemosyne was ready. 

A Goddess to Remember. Mnemosyne’s work was not all glitz and glam – as, in actuality, she was one on the geeky side. She was at first the inventress of language and words. According to Goddess Gift:

She was given responsibility for the naming of all objects, and by doing so gave humans the means to dialog and to converse with each other. 

In addition to that, she was also the goddess of memory and remembrance. Her role was very important, so to speak, especially in the ancient times when writing and literacy had not yet been invented. She represented the rote memorization required to preserve the stories of history and sagas of myth. As such, she became the owner of all the tales (Even though, there are not much stories about herself).

Mnemosyne embodied an oral culture that communicated the soul through their stories and metaphors. Back then, it was critical to the well-being of an individual or a society who had to rely solely on the lessons passed on in an oral history. However, as Maicar’s Greek Mythology Link puts it:

Mnemosyne is a great goddess, not only in the illiterate era when minstrels sang relying on what they found printed in their hearts, but at all times. For the mere act of being could not be apprehended without her; and man, in order to be, must be able to remember that he is, lest his very identity vanishes behind the clouds of inexplicable confusion. And once he remembers who he is, he still needs Memory in order to acquire and practise any science, art, or skill. For also knowledge is inseparable from Memory, by which all things that are and have been may be learned and recalled.

And that was how crucial her role was. Phew. Big responsibilities.

Mnemosyne lays Nonuplets

(Trivia: Nonuplets - Nine Twins, say... the Muses) 

This must have made the headlines back then. But, yeah, anything could be a headline when you're living in a world of gods. But how did this tale come to be? I found a nice story set after the Titanomachy regarding the birth of the nine Muses at Goddess Gift (I'm using this site quite a lot these days). It goes like this:

After Zeus led the war against the Titans and established himself as the leader of the Olympians, he feared that, even though he might be immortal, his great victories and decisions might soon be forgotten.

Longing for a way to preserve the memory of his many great feats, he dressed as a shepherd and went to find Mnemosyne. They slept together for nine nights before he returned to his home on Mount Olympus. (By the way, Zeus was still single so this was not one of his famous extramarital affairs.)

Zeus got his wish. Nine months later Mnemosyne gave birth for nine days, each day delivering a daughter. Collectively they were known as the Muses and were described as "having one mind, their hearts set upon song and their spirit free from care".

No banquet on Mount Olympus was complete without them. Seated near the throne of their father, they entertained the guests, singing not only of the greatness of Zeus, but about the marvelous feats of the Greek heroes and the creation of the heavens and the earth and all its wondrous creatures. 

And thus, Mnemosyne became the Mistress of the Arts, and the number 9 became her sacred number. The convenience that is Greek mythology. Tsk. Tsk.

... And the goddess lies LOW

After so many things that had happened in her divine life and her daughters having become full blown celebrities themselves, Mnemosyne decided to step out of the lime light. She became a minor oracular goddess in the oracle of Trophonius at Lebadeia; just like her sisters. 

Also, in her decision to lie low, she got really low like Underworld low. Mnemosyne presided over the Pool of Memory in Hades, counterpart to the River of Oblivion, Lethe. The ancients believed that when one died and crossed into the Underworld one would be given a choice . . . whether to drink from the river Lethe where you would forget all the pains and terrors of your previous life (and with them, the lessons they brought), or whether to drink from the Mnemosyne, the spring of memory. Those who chose to forget had to be reborn, to return to earth to learn the lessons they needed.  Those who had chosen to remember were admitted to the Elysian Fields where they would spend eternity in comfort and peace.

Sacred springs and fountains thereafter became sacred to her.

What a nice retirement for a nice goddess.

Remember not to forget. Even so, Mnemosyne stayed in our memory… to literally help our memory. From her name (or she was named after it… either way is fine by me) came our modern word Mnemonics. According to the FREE Dictionary (Hallelujah, it’s free):

mne·mon·ic (n-mnk)

adj. Relating to, assisting, or intended to assist the memory.

n. A device, such as a formula or rhyme, used as an aid in remembering.

And that’s Mnemosyne for us all.