“We are The Muses. Goddesses of the arts, and proclaimers of heroes.”

The Muses are presented in Hercules as five goddesses who narrate the movie. Calliope is the Muse of epic poetry, Clio is the Muse of history, Thalia is the Muse of comedy, Terpsichore is the Muse of dance, and Melpomene is the Muse of tragedy. There are actually nine major Greek Muses, and the ones that weren’t included in the film are Erato (the Muse of love poetry), Polyhymnia (the Muse of sacred poetry), Euterpe (the Muse of music and sound), and Urania (the Muse of astronomy).

Songwriter Alan Menken originally wanted The Spice Girls to voice the Muses, but scheduling difficulties prevented the collaboration from happening. Instead, they are voiced by Lillias White, Cheryl Freeman, LaChanze, Roz Ryan, and Vanéese Y. Thomas.

HERCULES (1997)