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Posted on May 08, 2008 @ 4:28 pm
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Deity Name: Euterpe
Pantheon: Greek
Current Alias: Currently, she uses Melody Carter. She’s used various other musical sounding names in the past, like Harmony or Allegra, simply because it amuses her. Her favorite was one she used in 18th century Italy, when she went by the name of Octavia Fortissimo.
Apparent Age: Mid-twenties
Occupation: Singer/songwriter/musician. However, she’s had to take numerous day jobs in order to support that lifestyle, so she’s done a little bit of everything. Most recently (i.e. in the past year) she has been a waitress, bartender, receptionist, front desk clerk, sales associate, cashier, maid, dog walker, ticket taker, tour guide, stock girl, dishwasher, pizza delivery girl, data entry clerk, car washer, landscape artist (lawn mower), and anything else she’s been able to find through the temp agencies. Including telemarketing, which she was surprisingly good at, when she actually showed up for work and didn’t skip out early.
Personality: Euterpe is a people pleaser, in nearly every sense of the word. She is happiest when those around her are happy and satisfied. While this is an admirable quality, sometimes it can lead her to overextend herself in an attempt to please everyone because she has difficulty putting her foot down. So she will promise whatever band or orchestral group she is working with that she will perform with them, even though she may have other commitments. Such as to a job. Really, being what she is, she can’t not play and sing, but it does make things uncomfortable for her with employers.
Because she doesn’t want to please them any less, when she shows up for work, she does give a full effort and work hard. Or as hard as she’s capable of. Some jobs, she is simply not suited for no matter how hard she tries. For reasons she doesn’t understand and can’t possibly explain, bad things seem to happen when Euterpe is around fire. The stint as a line cook was absolutely disastrous and the job working at the place with a coal fired pizza oven ended in ashes. Literally. But until the place burned down, she gave 110% effort on the job. Even though she’d been nearly half an hour late to begin with.
Which is par for the course as she’s almost perpetually tardy for everything but a gig. If she’s got to perform, Euterpe is usually the first person to arrive. She can’t seem to get that to translate to other aspects of her life though. If it’s not music-related, she’s actually somewhat irresponsible. With her time, with her money, with personal promises. It makes her seem a little flighty, but really, it’s just that she wants to make everybody happy. Overall, she is a very pleasant, positive, optimistic person, and she does her best to share that with others. Even when things go wrong. Even when they go wrong because of something she has done.
Because she is nearly always broke, Euterpe has learned how to be creative with her resources. Which she wouldn’t have to do if she could manage her finances better, but that doesn’t occur to her. She is much better when it comes to dealing with the aftermath than planning ahead of time. Spontaneity is a motivation for her, and it’s very apparent in how she spends her money and the fact that she is an impulse buyer. But she needed the new oboe, really she did. And new strings for her guitar. And that really cool thing that grows plants on the countertop that was on the infomercial at 3 a.m.
Shy is probably not the first term that comes to mind when one thinks of a muse. And when she is onstage, when she is performing, Euterpe can lose herself in her music to the point that any personal meekness fades away. It isn’t that she becomes another person, it’s more that what she is at her core becomes refined. The very essence of what she is responds to being put in that situation. She’s bold and confident in a way that she’s not when she’s not in the spotlight.
She even handles herself fairly well in a large group of people. While she’s frequently not the leader, neither is she a wall flower. But if she is caught out and becomes flustered, she will blush and go silent for a bit. Which is not as noticeable in a group, giving her time to recover and gather herself together. But one on one, her shyness and somewhat modest nature become more apparent until she gets to know someone well enough to be comfortable. She usually compensates for that lack by attempting to imagine that she’s performing. Which can occasionally backfire.
But when it comes down to it, all Euterpe really wants is to share her music in order to spread joy and pleasure.
History: Growing up with eight talented and somewhat attention-grabbing sisters, and living with them and a god who was always in the spotlight, made Euterpe a bit of a peace-maker. Which was quite possibly why she ended up with an aspect that she viewed as non-controversial and, occasionally, somewhat bland. At least in comparison to her sisters. Lyrical poetry, after all, wasn’t as exciting as erotic poetry, as deep as tragedy, as distinguished as epic poetry, as fun as comedy, as graceful as dance, or as intellectual as astronomy or history. Though she was somewhat comforted that at least she hadn’t ended up like Polyhymnia. Euterpe always thought that particular sister could do with some lightening up.
Actually, they all could from time to time. Putting that many creative personalities in close quarters led to frequent flares in temper for one reason or another. Euterpe did her best to keep everyone happy. Conflict upset her so while she didn’t have Thalia’s humor, she tried hard to make people laugh, to bring them joy. There were several amusing songs, later attributed to her sister, that she in fact wrote. But that was alright. The point was to make people happy, not to get credit.
And that was what she did. She made people happy, she wrote songs and played and sang and inspired and did all the things a muse was supposed to do. And though her sisters might have thought her invention of a double flute wasn’t all that exciting, it was neat enough that Pan stole the idea and ran off with it. Of course he added more reeds, because he was male and bigger is always better with that sort. Euterpe just rolled her eyes a little bit and let him have it. After all, it made people happy, and that’s what she wanted to do.
So that’s what she continued to do, even as the Golden Age came to a close and the world around them shifted. Fewer and fewer people came to them for inspiration. The term “muse” became almost a generic one, any power associated with the word muted by the generalization. It didn’t stop Euterpe from attempting to do the best job she could, though, even as her personal powers began slowly waning. Music and joy were closely tied together, and she knew how much the world needed both. Especially when there were bad things going on. Mortals clung to music in a way that made her feel like no matter what, she had to keep helping them.
When Rome burned, Euterpe was there, standing at Nero’s shoulder as he sang and played his lyre in an attempt to comfort and calm himself. There was no fiddle and it was such a pity that action was so misunderstood later. Music soothed, and she saw it time and again. When the library at Alexandria was destroyed, she wept for its loss but gave mortal workers song to aid them as they cleaned up in the aftermath. It was the least she could do, attempting to help others find their way back to normalcy and happiness after such severe blows.
Of course, sometimes her joyful music was actually used to express joy. The entire Renaissance period was one of gleeful expression for Euterpe, even if, again, she could rarely take credit for her own work. It was the curse of a muse anyway, but in that time women had certain roles, and she wore the mask she had to wear in order to share her gifts with the world. She didn’t care, because for the first time in a very long time, she was growing in power rather than losing it. The explosion of creativity and artistic adventures that gave the time period its enduring name also fed Euterpe. And probably her sisters, but she was too busy having a good time to notice that somewhere along the way she’d rather lost touch with them. But surely they were having just as much fun as she was.
After that sharp burst of excitement that came with the Renaissance, some of the energy began to fade again, become muted as it had before, but Euterpe wasn’t all that worried. There was still enough music in the world to feed her soul, and it was still a very exciting time. Vivaldi, Bach, Mozart, Beethoven. She knew each of them, and gave them what aid she could which, even though powers were not what they once were, was still considerable.
But as the beginning of the industrial age drew near, it seemed less and less credence was given to those that composed music. And by extension, somewhat less attention was given to music in general. Euterpe drifted north, finding herself in Ireland where she became utterly charmed with the people, wondering how she’d not met this group of people before. Their culture, their history, their souls were tied up in the music of their people, and she adored them. They were also leaving, in droves, for a new home across the sea. So Euterpe went with them.
America was overwhelming, in so many ways. Both good and bad. Euterpe spent some time in New York City, with the immigrants she’d traveled with. Then she began to explore this new land. She went south, falling in love with a new culture there as well, deeply moved by the spirituality she found in the souls and music of the slaves. It was a unifying force, and it was inspiring in the face of their adversity. It was also new, because though she’d seen slaves before, in Rome, in Greece, called serfs and servants in the Middle Ages, never before had she encountered a group that met their fate and challenged it in such a way. It was amazing.
Then she went west until she reached the other shore. Melodies were written, sung and passed on, most being attributed as “folk songs.” Barrooms and mining camps alike were filled with rough voices that were never trained to be musical, but lifted in joy of the song none-the-less. Everywhere she went in this new country, there was no lack of enthusiasm. For anything, including music. Though it was not the heyday of the Renaissance, it was gratifying to know that her influence was appreciated.
She also discovered, by complete accident, that singing on a stage gave her a rush. It was not the same as the overall worship she’d once enjoyed, but it was a concentrated bit of energy that became nearly addictive. Euterpe began stepping out of the shadows and into the spotlight herself. It was not always easy, but the results she got made it worth it. Even if she did once get stuck in the middle of a blizzard on the great plains while she was traveling by stage coach as an opera singer. For a week. In the end, they’d had to burn the coach and eat one of the horses, then walk nearly thirty miles through the snow. Not fun. But she’d received a standing ovation at the next town, so it was all but forgotten.
As America grew, Euterpe grew with it. She changed her names and her occupation every few years to avoid suspicion about her long life. And only once did she come close to getting caught. It was an event that made a very large impact in her life, and changed the way she sought acknowledgement as a performer.
In the late 1940’s, in the midst of the blooming country music scene when Hank Snow and Eddie Arnold were big radio stars, just before the revolution that would be rock and roll, Euterpe was introduced to Colonel Tom Parker. He seemed impressed with her writing ability, but he criticized her singing and it made some of Euterpe’s insecurities rise to the surface. She very nearly let him talk her into allowing him to “help” her become a big star just so she could feel better about herself. She’d actually had pen in hand, ready to sign a contract she’d barely read when it occurred to her that if she put out records, if she went on tour, her face would become far too well known. It was tempting, really, really tempting, because it would be a huge rush of power. But it wouldn’t be able to last. She’d never be able to perform again, not without having people point and whisper and wonder. So she erred on the side of caution, and the Colonel signed somebody else. A country boy by the name of Presley.
Many times in the years to come, Euterpe second guessed that decision, wondering if it was the right one. Especially as times became harder and money became tighter. After traveling the nation, she recently found herself back in the city that she’d started in when she came to this country, and she quickly immersed herself in the music scene in New York. There were so many opportunities here, bands, Broadway, and she’s even sung at a wedding or two. She’s also played in a number of orchestras, keeping a low profile, moving on before too long, changing her name. She only stays with a band long enough to really let them get on their feet, and then she tells them to find a new bassist, drummer, lead singer or whatever other role she’s taken with them. Many have gone on to marginal success and a couple to great acclaim. Which gives Euterpe a great deal of satisfaction, even if it doesn’t put much money in her bank account.
It might help if she could keep a day job, but it’s almost a revolving door. She tries, she really does, but Euterpe can’t resist the calling that has been hers for thousands of years. So the music comes first, and her mundane jobs suffer. Most employers are not all that understanding. Neither are landlords when they don’t get their rent, and she changes apartments with regularity as well. Currently, she has a home, though that might be because she’s between bands. But when the music calls, she’ll answer again. She can’t do anything less.
PB: Jewel Staite
Sample Post: Found Here
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