This etched drawing, by the French artist Léon Davent (16th century) after a design by Francesco Primaticcio (c. 1504/5–1570), envisions the Muse goddess, Calliope, from Greek mythology. She and her fellow Muses were patron goddesses of arts, sciences and creativity in the ancient Greco-Roman world. An ancient Greek poet named Hesiod (c. 8th century BCE) is thought to have been the first person to provide the canonical names of the muses, and he positioned Calliope as the leading member of the group. He wrote, “the Muses sang, who dwell in Olympus, the nine daughters born of great Zeus, Clio and Euterpe and Thaleia and Melpomene, Terpsichore and Erato and Polyhymnia and Urania, and Calliope, who is chief among them all” (Hesiod, Theogony, approximately lines 76-79). Calliope’s name loosely translates to “Beautiful-Voiced,” referring to both her singing voice and the eloquence of her words—a double meaning that reflects the close relationship between music and poetry. On Calliope’s name and her sphere of artistic influence, an ancient scholar named Diodorus Siculus (c. 1st century BCE) wrote, “To each of the Muses men assign her special aptitude for one of the branches of the liberal arts, such as poetry, song, pantomimic dancing, the round dance with music, the study of the stars, and the other liberal arts…Calliope, because of her beautiful (kale) voice (ops) that is, by reason of the exceeding beauty of her language she wins the approbation of her auditors” (Diodorus Siculus, Library of History, 4.7). In particular, Calliope was believed to be the patron goddess of epic poetry. In terms of her representation in art, she is often depicted carrying a text and wielding a musical instrument. In Léon Davent’s artwork, however, she has left behind her instrument to focus solely on her poetry.
Written by C. Keith Hansley
Sources:
- Theogony and Works and Days by Hesiod, translated by M. L. West. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988, 1999, 2008.
- The Library of History, by Diodorus Siculus, edited by Giles Laurén (Sophron Editor, 2014).
- Metamorphoses by Ovid. Translated by David Raeburn. Penguin Classics; Revised Edition, 2004.
- The Oxford Dictionary of Classical Myth and Religion, edited by Simon Price and Emily Kearns. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003.
- https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/337182
