THE NINE MUSES

 Author's Personal Collection

The Nine Muses was a group of smaller redwoods surrounding the stump of a big tree which was used as the Big Trees Grove bandstand. In the image above, just behind the Three Sisters, you can see the staircase leading up to the bandstand. Note the Giant, with its picket fence, in the background.

The name Nine Muses was bestowed upon these trees by 1889. The nine muses of Greek mythology referenced were 

Thalia (Comedy)

Urania (Astronomy)

Melpomene (Tragedy)

Polyhymnia (Hymns)

Erato (Lyric Poetry)

Calliope (Epic Poetry)

Clio (History)

Euterpe (Flue-playing)

Terpsichore (Choral Lyric and Dancing)

Author's Personal Collection

The above image shows a similar view today looking from the Three Sisters (within the Fremont Group) toward the Nine Muses. The area is now crowded with a thick underbrush. The Sister on the right in both images is the same. It fell during a storm in 1915 and is now known as the Fallen Sister.