CALLIOPE

also spelled Kalliope, in Greek mythology, foremost of the nine Muses, patron of epic poetry. At the behest of Zeus, the king of the gods, she judged the dispute between the goddesses Aphrodite and Persephone over Adonis. In most accounts she and King Oeagrus of Thrace were the parents of Orpheus, the lyre-playing hero. She was also loved by the god Apollo, by whom she had two sons, Hymen and Ialemus. Other versions present her as the mother of Rhesus, king of Thrace and a victim of the Trojan War; or as the mother of Linus the musician, who was inventor of melody and rhythm. Her image appears on the Franois vase, made by the potter Ergotimos about 570 BC.