Calliope
Calliope was the chief of the nine Muses, presiding over epic poetry — she inspired Homer and was the mother of Orpheus.
The Myth of Calliope
Calliope was the most distinguished Muse. She inspired the Iliad and the Odyssey. Her son Orpheus inherited her musical genius. She settled the dispute between Aphrodite and Persephone over Adonis. She was depicted with a writing tablet and stylus, or carrying a scroll of epic verse. As the Muse of epic, she presided over the highest form of Greek poetry.
Parents
Zeus and Mnemosyne
Children
Orpheus, Linus
Symbols
Fun Fact
A calliope (the steam organ) was named after her — its powerful sound matches the grandeur of epic poetry.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth. See our full guide to English words from Greek mythology.
Explore Further
Thetis
🌿 nymphSea nymph mother of Achilles
Thetis was a sea nymph so powerful that both Zeus and Poseidon desired her — until a prophecy warned her son would surpass his father.
Maia
🌿 nymphMother of Hermes, eldest Pleiad
Maia was the eldest and most beautiful of the seven Pleiades, a shy mountain nymph who bore Hermes to Zeus in a secret cave on Mount Cyllene.
Oceanids
🌿 nymphThree thousand daughters of Oceanus
The Oceanids included Metis, Styx, Doris — nymphs of all fresh waters.
Agaue
🌿 nymphSplendour, nobility of the sea
Nereid sea nymph whose name means "the illustrious one," representing the noble majesty of the ocean
Idaea
🌿 nymphmountains, springs
A nymph of Mount Ida in the Troad who became the second wife of the river god Scamander — or in other versions, of King Phineus.
Clymene
🌿 nymphfame, ocean
Oceanid nymph and mother of Phaethon and the Heliades.
Amphitrite
🌿 nymphQueen of the sea
Amphitrite was the Nereid who became queen of the sea as Poseidon's wife.
Urania
🌿 nymphMuse of astronomy
Urania was the Muse of astronomy and celestial navigation — her gaze was fixed on the stars.
Idyia
🌿 nymphKnowledge, Colchis
Oceanid nymph known as the knowing one and queen of Colchis beside King Aeetes
Creusa
🌿 nymphsprings, motherhood
A Naiad nymph of Thessaly who bore Hypseus and Stilbe to the river god Peneus.
Thetis
🌿 nymphSea nymph whose son's fate drove the Iliad
Thetis was the Nereid whose son was destined to surpass his father — a prophecy so threatening that Zeus and Poseidon married her off to a mortal.
Asia
🌿 nymphLand, territory
Oceanid nymph whose name was given to the continent of Asia