Irlandos at 11:43, July 3, 2006

2006-07-03T11:43:29Z

Irlandos at 11:42, July 3, 2006

2006-07-03T11:42:55Z

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'''Mnemosyne''' ([[Greek language|Greek]] ''Mνημοσύνη}}'') (sometimes confused with [[Mneme]]) was the personification of memory in [[Greek mythology]]. This [[titans|titaness]] was the daughter of [[Gaia]] and [[Uranus]] and the mother of the [[Muse]]s by [[Zeus]].

In [[Hesiod]]'s [[Theogony]], kings and poets receive their powers of authoritative speech from their possession of Mnemosyne and their special relationship with the Muses.

Zeus lay with Mnemosyne for nine consecutive nights and thereby created the nine muses. Mnemosyne was also the name for a river in [[Hades]], counterpart to [[Lethe]], according to a series of [[4th century BC]] Greek funerary inscriptions in dactylic hexameter. Dead souls drank from Lethe so they would not remember their past lives when reincarnated. Initiates were encouraged to drink from the river Mnemosyne when they died, instead of Lethe. These inscriptions may have been connected with a private mystery religion, or with [[Orpheus|Orphic]] poetry (see Zuntz, 1971).

Similarly, those who wished to consult the oracle of [[Trophonius]] in [[Boeotia]] were made to drink alternately from two springs called "Lethe" and "Mnemosyne". An analogous setup is described in the [[Myth of Er]] at the end of [[Plato]]'s [[Republic]].

==References==
*Zuntz, Gunter. ''Persephone''. Cambridge, 1971.

== See also ==
*[[Mnemonic]]
*[[Meme]]

{{Credit wikipedia}}

[[Category:Greek goddesses]]
[[Category:Titans]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 11:43, July 3, 2006
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−	'''Mnemosyne''' ([[Greek language\|Greek]] ''Mνημοσύνη}}'') (sometimes confused with [[Mneme]]) was the personification of memory in [[Greek mythology]]. This [[titans\|titaness]] was the daughter of [[Gaia]] and [[Uranus]] and the mother of the [[Muse]]s by [[Zeus]].	+	'''Mnemosyne''' ([[Greek language\|Greek]] ''Mνημοσύνη'') (sometimes confused with [[Mneme]]) was the personification of memory in [[Greek mythology]]. This [[titans\|titaness]] was the daughter of [[Gaia]] and [[Uranus]] and the mother of the [[Muse]]s by [[Zeus]].

	In [[Hesiod]]'s [[Theogony]], kings and poets receive their powers of authoritative speech from their possession of Mnemosyne and their special relationship with the Muses.		In [[Hesiod]]'s [[Theogony]], kings and poets receive their powers of authoritative speech from their possession of Mnemosyne and their special relationship with the Muses.

Mnemosyne - Revision history

Irlandos at 11:43, July 3, 2006

Irlandos at 11:42, July 3, 2006