Calliope- Greek GodDeity"Muse of Epic Poetry"

The Chief of the Muses

Zeus lay nine nights with Mnemosyne, and she bore nine daughters — the Muses. Calliope was the eldest. She attended kings and gave them honeyed speech that settled disputes and swayed assemblies. The unnamed Muse whom Homer summoned to sing the wrath of Achilles and the wanderings of Odysseus was, by tradition, Calliope. Virgil called on her by name.

Mother of Orpheus

Calliope bore Orpheus — by Apollo in some accounts, by the Thracian king Oeagrus in others. From his mother he inherited the gift of song that could move stones and tame wild beasts. His music charmed even Hades and Persephone when he descended to the underworld to retrieve Eurydice. When the Maenads tore Orpheus apart in their frenzy, the Muses gathered his scattered limbs and buried them at Leibethra beneath Mount Olympus, where nightingales sang over his grave.

The Quarrel over Adonis

Zeus called upon Calliope to judge the dispute between Aphrodite and Persephone over the beautiful youth Adonis. Both goddesses claimed him, and Calliope decreed that he should spend part of the year with each — a compromise that enraged Aphrodite. In retaliation, the love goddess caused the women of Thrace to fall into a frenzy of desire for Orpheus, and their jealousy over his music contributed to the violence that destroyed him.

Contest with the Pierides

In Ovid's telling, the nine daughters of King Pierus of Emathia challenged the Muses to a singing contest on Mount Helicon. Calliope answered for the Muses. She sang the tale of Persephone's abduction — Hades splitting the earth beneath the girl's feet, Demeter's anguished search, the pomegranate seeds that bound her daughter to the underworld. The nymphs judging the contest declared the Muses victorious, and the defeated Pierides were transformed into magpies, their once-melodious voices reduced to harsh chattering.