Calliope

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For the musical instrument, see Calliope (music). For other uses, see Calliope (disambiguation).

In Greek mythology, Calliope (Kaliope or Kalliope) (Greek: Καλλιόπη, beautiful-voiced) was the muse of epic poetry, daughter of Zeus and Mnemosyne, and is now best known as Homer's muse, the inspiration for The Iliad and The Odyssey.

She had two sons, Orpheus and Linus by either Apollo or the Thracian king Oeagrus. She was the oldest and wisest of the Muses, as well as the most assertive. She was the judge in the argument over Adonis between Aphrodite and Persephone, giving each equal time with him. She was represented by a stylus and wax tablets.

She is always seen with a writing tablet in her hand, and sometimes carries a roll of paper or a book or wears a gold crown.

[edit] Calliope in fiction

Calliope is a character in the graphic novel Sandman, by Neil Gaiman. Her story is in the collection Dream Country. According to the comic's canon, Morpheus was actually Calliope's lover and the father of Orpheus. In another deviation from the traditional myths, Calliope is stated as being the youngest of the nine muses, rather than the eldest.

The author Nick Sagan, son of famous author Carl Sagan, also makes reference to Calliope in his debut novel, Idlewild. In his book the main character, Halloween, suffers amnesia after a power surge, referred to as the Calliope Surge. The author also makes reference to Calliope being the daughter of Mnemosyne, the personification of memory.

Calliope is a major character in the fan fiction community Subreality. She is referred to as "Queen of the Muses" and runs the Imaginarium Collegium, a school where aspiring Muses go to learn their craft.

In the Frasier episode "They're Playing Our Song," when Frasier composes a lengthy, pompous jingle for his radio show and hires an entire orchestra to play it, he takes up a baton to direct it, he proclaims, "And with a simple bow of thanks to our Calliope, let us begin."

In the show Grey's Anatomy, Sara Ramirez plays the role of Calliope Iphegenia Torres O'Malley ("Callie").

In Jeffrey Eugenides' novel Middlesex the narrator, a hermaphrodite, is named Calliope, which is shortened to Cal after adolescence to denote the change in sex.

A magical woman named Calliope acts as a Muse for the protagonist of the novel Fool on the Hill by Matt Ruff. Though she is never explicitly said to be the Calliope of Greek Mythology, she is immortal, magical, and is described as enjoying Retsina and Feta, both Greek foods.

Blinded by the Light, a rock song written by Bruce Springsteen and a Number 1 single covered in 1977 by Manfred Mann's Earth Band, features a Calliope, though in this case the Calliope in question is a steam-driven organ playing alongside the merry-go-round at the Asbury Park funfair; the type of organ deriving its name from the original greek meaning of Calliope as "beautiful voiced". See Calliope (music).