Word from Mythology: Museum

The word MUSEUM comes to use from the Greek Muses, the goddesses of art and knowledge. Our word is a borrowing of the Latin word museum, which in turn comes from the Greek word mouseion, meaning a shrine of the Muses. You can see a list of the nine Muses and their special gifts in this Wikipedia article.

Below is Hendrick van Balen's painting of Minerva (Athena) and the Nine Muses: