In another, she holds the Odyssey in her hand. In one painting by Jacques Louis David, Calliope is shown playing the lyre and mourning Homer, who lies dead. She is also often depicted in artwork, with her most famous associations being with the epic poet Homer. She also appears in Dante’s Divine Comedy, where the author calls her and the other Muses to bring dead poetry back to life. Calliope’s AssociationsĬalliope appears in the writings of Virgil, in which the author invokes her and asks for her favor. Both Hesiod and Ovid refer to Calliope as the chief of the group. In both events, the goddesses rose victorious, and Calliope turned the daughters of Pierus into magpies after they dared to challenge the all-talented Muses. She participated with the other Muses in the contest they held against the Sirens and the daughters of Pierus. She also appears as the main inspiration of other great Greek poets. As the Muse of epic poetry, people said that Homer was only able to write the Iliad andthe Odyssey thanks to Calliope’s influence. As the goddess of eoquence, Calliope gave her gift to heroes and gods by visiting them in their cribs when they were babies and covering their lips with honey. She appears in the myths with the other muses, performing deeds together. Calliope’s Role in Greek MythologyĬalliope did not have a central role in Greek mythology. She appears as the mother of King Rhesus of Thrace, who died in the War of Troy. In other versions, she had two children from Apollo: Hymen and Ialemus. Calliope is also the mother of Linus, the great musician, and inventor of rhythm and melody. His musical talent was so astonishing that his singing made creatures, trees, and stones follow him. Apollo made Orpheus the great musician, poet, and prophet he wound up being. Calliope taught Orpheus music, but it would be the god Apollo who would finish his education. In the myths, Calliope married King Oeagrus of Thrace, and together they had the lyre-playing Greek hero Orpheus and the musician Linus. However, they dwelt on Mount Olympus, where they were at the service of the gods. People went there to ask for their assistance. Her name in Ancient Greek stands for Beautiful-voiced.Ĭalliope and the other Muses frequented Mount Helicon, where they had contests, and mortals worshipped them.

In this sense, Calliope’s depictions show her with a scroll or a writing table and a stylus. She was also the goddess of eloquence, and according to the myths, she was in charge of giving heroes and gods this gift. Each one of them had a specific domain in the arts.Ĭalliope’s domain was epic poetry and music. The nine Muses were: Clio, Euterpe, Thalia, Melpomene, Terpsichore, Erato, Polyhymnia, Urania, and Calliope. According to the myths, Zeus visited Mnemosyne for nine nights in a row, and they conceived one of the Muses each night. The muses were the daughters of Zeus, the god of thunder and king of the gods, and Mnemosyne, the Titaness of memory.

Behind her is a bust of Homer.Ĭalliope was the eldest of the Nine Muses, the goddesses of arts, dance, music, and inspiration.

Calliope muse