The Nine Muses
In Greek mythology, the Muses were nine goddesses who presided over the arts and sciences. They were the daughters of Zeus, king of the gods, and Mnemosyne, goddess of memory—suggesting that all creative work emerges from the union of divine power and remembrance.
The Muses lived on Mount Helicon, near a spring called Hippocrene ("Horse's Fountain"), which was said to have been created when the winged horse Pegasus struck the rock with his hoof. Those who drank from its waters gained poetic inspiration.
We still speak of "the muse" when describing creative inspiration—the feeling that something flows through us rather than from us.
Selected Quotes on Creativity
"Creativity is intelligence having fun."— Albert Einstein
"Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up."— Pablo Picasso
"You can't use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have."— Maya Angelou
"Creativity takes courage."— Henri Matisse
"The chief enemy of creativity is good sense."— Pablo Picasso
"Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep."— Scott Adams
"The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul."— Dieter F. Uchtdorf
"An idea that is not dangerous is unworthy of being called an idea at all."— Oscar Wilde
"Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainties."— Erich Fromm
"The creative adult is the child who survived."— Ursula K. Le Guin
"Make visible what, without you, might perhaps never have been seen."— Robert Bresson
"Creativity is just connecting things."— Steve Jobs
"The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt."— Sylvia Plath
"Art is not what you see, but what you make others see."— Edgar Degas
"To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong."— Joseph Chilton Pearce
"Creativity is the way I share my soul with the world."— Brené Brown
"There is no must in art because art is free."— Wassily Kandinsky
"Every act of creation is first an act of destruction."— Pablo Picasso
"The creative process is a process of surrender, not control."— Julia Cameron
"Creativity is piercing the mundane to find the marvelous."— Bill Moyers
"The only way to do great work is to love what you do."— Steve Jobs
"Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working."— Pablo Picasso
"Creativity is inventing, experimenting, growing, taking risks, breaking rules, making mistakes, and having fun."— Mary Lou Cook
"The earth has music for those who listen."— William Shakespeare
"Create with the heart; build with the mind."— Criss Jami