![]() ![]() The legendary Orpheus travelled with the Argonauts and playing his harp so wonderfully that it drowned out the dangerous song of the Sirens. The most famous story of Calliope is the one regarding her legendary son, Orpheus. Often these were hymns of praise to the goddess of poetic inspiration, but sometimes the stories themselves were about Calliope and her family. While Calliope was said to inspire the poets, she also appeared in their works. Calliope comes from the Greek words kallos and ops, meaning “beautiful voice.” Calliope’s Son Her name, in fact, reflected the tradition of oral history. She inspired the songs that the stories were set to as well. Thus, Calliope did not just inspire written words. The works of the great poets were added to the repertoires of the many travelling singers and court bards whose job it was to tell the stories of their religion and history. When Hesiod and Homer wrote their works, they wrote in poetic verse so that the stories could be set to music. Playing music along with the stories helped to make them more memorable, both to those who shared them and to the listeners. Bards trained for years to memorize the songs that told the illiterate populace important stories while also entertaining them. They were sung.įor hundreds, if not thousands, of years, singing had been the primary way of passing on the stories of the gods. Before the 8th century BC, all the mythology of the area was passed on through oral tradition.Įven after poets like Hesiod and Homer began to record the legends, they were not read or recited for audiences. The Greek myths existed long before they were written down. The Muse of Song and PoetryĬalliope was the muse of epic poetry who gave inspiration to writers and singers. She was the Muse who inspired their work. Later they were each assigned a different area of influence.Ĭalliope was particularly important to ancient poets. Others said they were the children of Apollo, while some writers said they were primeval daughters of Gaia and Uranus.Įarly in Greek history, the Muses worked collectively. Some accounts said that they were the daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne (Memory). There was no consensus among the Greeks as to the parentage of the Muses. Mount Helicon, also in Boeotia, was said to be their home and the springs there flowed with the waters of inspiration. The Muses continued to be associated with water long after they stopped being thought of as nymphs. This was the homeland of Hesiod, one of the oldest writers whose works survive, so the Muses are well-documented from the earliest days of written mythology. It is thought that the idea of nine Muses, as opposed to a variety of nymphs, began in the region of Boeotia. Over time, though, the triple goddesses were tripled for a total of nine. ![]() ![]() Eventually their mythology grew until they became an independent class of goddesses.Īt this time, there were probably only three Muses deities in Greek mythology often appeared in groups of three. The earliest Muses were said to be water nymphs who lived near the wells that gave inspiration. The Muses were depicted as nine beautiful young women, each with an attribute that corresponded to a type of work they inspired. These sister goddesses were the sources of inspiration and knowledge for artists, historians, and writers. This included one of the most tragic romances in ancient literature the story of her own son.įar more than just another nameless nymph, find out why Calliope was considered the greatest of the Muses! Calliope and her SistersĬalliope was one of the nine Muses, Mousai in Greek. Calliope was given a distinct mythology that separated her from her sisters.īy inspiring epic poems that combined the stories of the gods and the past with beautifully crafted words, Calliope was credited with making sure the stories important to her were preserved forever. There is more to Calliope’s story than just the invocations of the great poets of the ancient world, though. The writers from whom modern readers learn about the beliefs of ancient Greece made sure that their Muse had a special place in the works she inspired. As the deity of epic poems and songs, she was the patroness of writers like Homer, Ovid, and Hesiod. The Muses were goddesses of the arts who bestowed the gift of inspiration on artists, poets, dancers, and philosophers.Īmong the nine sisters, Calliope was held in particularly high regard. Calliope was one of nine sisters in Greek mythology. ![]()
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