Pausanias wrote of the three original Muses: Aoide ("song"), Melete ("practice"), and Mneme ("memory"). They are the essence of the preconditions of poetic art in cult practice.

In Delphi three Muses were also worshipped: Nete, Mese, and Hypate, which are the names of the three chords of the ancient musical instrument, the lyre. Alternatively they were called Cephisso, Apollonis, and Borysthenis, whose names characterise them as daughters of Apollo.

Yet later fur Muses were recognized: Thelxinoe, Aoede, Arche, and Melete, said to be daughters of Zeus and Plusia. Many recognised Pierus as the father (by a Pimpleian nymph: called Antiope by Cicero) of a total of seven Muses, named Neilo, Tritone, Asopo, Heptapora, Achelois, Tipoplo, and Rhodia.

The Muses judged the contest between Apollo and Marsyas. They also gathered the pieces of the dead body of Orpheus, son of Calliope, and buried them and, they blinded Thamyris for his hubris in challenging them to a contest.

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