The Tenth Muse

I found these poems and images in a chess pamphlet called "The Tenth Muse," published through the Good Companion Chess Problem Club circa 1920 and authored by a member of that club, Samuel W. Strauss.

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The images appear to be pre-photoshop manipulations.

i first came across the muse called Caissa in a Tal Quote , im gonna have a look for the quote batgirl brb

" it so happens that i have often been before Caissa's sacrificial alter and i have given many sacrifices to her "

Not all the poems in this 54 page pamphlet are classically inspired, although the Greek poetess Sappho was referred to as "The Tenth Muse" by Plato.

Caïssa's been around for about 2 and a half centuries having made her appearance in a 1763 poem by Willaim Jones called Caissa - http://www.edochess.ca/batgirl/caissa.html

She was actually a dryad rather than a muse, per se:
                             A lovely dryad rang'd the Thracian wild,
                             Her air enchanting, and her aspect mild:
                             To chase the bounding hart was all her joy,
                             Averse from Hymen, and the Cyprian boy;
                             O'er hills an valleys was her beauty fam'd,
                             And fair Caissa was the damsel nam'd.

Jones based his poem upon another one written by Marcus Hieronymus Vida called "Scacchia Ludus,"   published in 1527.

In the poem the Roman god Apollo plays Mercury in a game of chess. Vida describes the rules of the game and the pieces used in great detail. Instead of Bishops, Vida employs the term, Sagittiferi Centauri or Archers/Centaurs; instead of Rooks, he uses Elephas or Elephant (or Cyclops in the earlier versions). Elephas really refers to the tower war elephants carried on their backs.
The poem concludes with Mercury's victory after which he seduces a nymph named Scacchis and compensates her  by teaching her this godly game and naming it after her. Probably the most lasting effect Vida's poem had on chess was the introduction of a tower as the Rook.

While Scacchis may have been the first Goddess of Chess, Caïssa is certainly the most famous and sustaining. In the poem Caïssa, Mars becomes infatuated with a nymph named Caïssa but she does not return the favor and is in fact a bit repulsed by the God of War. Not one to give up the fight, Mars enlists the aid of an ally, Euphron, the God of Sports and Games. Euphon creates the game of chess and designs a beautiful and elaborate board and chess set for Mars to give to Caïssa. In the poem, Mars gains Caïssa's attention this way and teaches her how to play. As the game progresses, Caïssa's  resistance wears down and in the end, Mars wins more than just the game. But Caïssa wins eternal fame.

A less classically-based poem from "The Tenth Muse" :

 i am enjoying this well cool

Caïssa, from an old book.

Caïssa

Caïssa

Thanks for all the pictures, poems, and info! I somehow liked especially this tidbit 

Caïssa rides again.

Extraordinary Gold Mining Batgirl! Just brilliant

Thank my little pick axe.

Wonderful stuff, Batgirl, as usual.

Look what I found:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carmina_Burana

On this page is said to be a picture illustrating a game of chess:

http://www.hs-augsburg.de/~harsch/Chronologia/Lspost13/CarminaBurana/bur_cpo2.html

Scroll down to the MS page with the chess picture. The last line above it says:

Victus ab hoste gemat, qui dum fit «Schach roch» † et hie mat.

The book was written in or about 1230, almost 800 years ago!

more Caissa!