This collection investigates the shifting conceptualization of the Muse in classical literature, moving beyond traditional religious interpretations to examine the figure as a site of power and creative conflict. The editors, Don Fowler and Efrossini Spentzou, curate a series of essays from an international group of scholars to challenge the historical consensus that Muses were merely benign, divine entities. By analyzing a diverse corpus of Greek and Latin poetry, the contributors argue that the Muse often functions as a secularized, contested agent within the creative process.

Experts in classical studies recognize this volume as a significant intervention in the study of ancient poetics and the history of inspiration. Readers frequently note that the text provides a sophisticated, multi-faceted framework for understanding how ancient authors negotiated their own creative authority.