The Cult of the Muses in Thespiai - Víctor García Martínez

Ví ctor Garcí a Martí nez is an MA student in their second and final year of the Ancient Religions MA program in the University of Wales Trinity Saint David.
Even though they are mentioned in the Homeric poems, it was Hesiod who first introduced the Heliconian Muses to the Western world, for he exposes in his Theogony an undeniable link between the lands he inhabited and the daughters of Mnemosyne. From the Boeotian
poet onwards, Muses were no longer homeless, and mount Helicon and its surroundings would forever be thought of as their space. The town where Hesiod lived, Ascra, happened to be located in the Valley of the Muses, a territory that ended up being controlled by one of the most prominent poleis of the Boeotian Confederacy; Thespiai.
It is my intention to venture into this notion Hesiod planted and explore the dimensions of the cult of the Muses in Thespiai. There is archaeological evidence supporting the presence of a Sanctuary of the Muses in their Valley, although its chronology only goes back to the Hellenistic age. Contemporary to the sanctuary, there are testimonies (IThesp 152-158,
among others) of a bardic competition called Mouseia regularly happening in the city, but, once again, earlier examples of an established agon honouring the Muses rest on far more unstable ground. There ppears to be, then, a gap between Hesiod’s testimony and the third century, in which many doubts arise regarding the relationship between Thespiai and the Muses.
It is my intention to “bridge” this gap, using archaeological, literary, and epigraphical sources for the most part as a basis to construct a theoretical approach to the topic, focusing on identity as the key element to analyze in this situation. Just as Megalopolis adopted mythical elements from mount Lykaion in order to build itself a cohesive identity, I believe Thespiai could have integrated the Heliconian deities into their ideology and identity as a polis, albeit in a less overt way, through several mechanisms concerning concepts such as cultural memory and intentional history. I am aware of the vastly different contexts of both poleis, and as such I will approach this angle with an open mind, never straying too far from the sources.
Furthermore, it is my intention to analyze the true relationship between the Muses and Thespiai, in order to conclude if there was an organized cult during centuries, if their link was only symbolic, or if neither possibility can be confirmed. Archaeology will be the most reliable source in this regard, although a lack of materiality does not necessarily preclude a lack of religious activity.
Finally, I will explore how this unbreakable link between Thespiai and the Muses translated into the greater extent of the Greek world. Thanks to epigraphical records we know that this relationship was recognized as far as Pergamon, at least in the Hellenistic age. However, to study this there needs to be a differentiation between fame brought upon by Hesiod, and
an active disposition and role by Thespiai itself.
To conclude, my research aims to better understand the Heliconian Thespiai and their religious relationship with their immediate surroundings.

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Great lecture! Keep it coming!