It is the muses
who have caused me
to be honored:
they taught me their craft.
~Sappho
Painting by Charles Mengin, 1877 Sappho
Sappho was an ancient Greek lyric poet whose works were to be accompanied by lyre. Although she was a prolific poet, most of her work has been lost to history, and what remains is mostly fragments. Those fragments, however, influence artists to this day. Thus is the power of the muse.