“Whom all the Muses loved, not one alone;--
Into his hand they put the lyre of gold,
And crowned with sacred laurel at their fount,
Placed him as Musagetes, on their throne.”
--_Longfellow._
Apollo was skilled in the art of music and sang hymns of his composing
to an accompaniment of his own upon a wonderful lyre which Hermes had
made for him. He was the dearly loved leader of the nine Muses, and was
surnamed Musagetes.
That he should be the god both of music and poetry does not appear
strange, but that medicine should also be assigned to his province may.
Armstrong, a physician as well as a poet, thus explains--
“Music exalts each joy, allays each grief,
Expels diseases, softens every pain;
And hence the wise of ancient days adored
One power of physic, melody and song.”