Calliope

Eldest of the nine Muses — at Hes. *Theog.* 79 she is προφερεστάτη, 'most excellent' of all the sisters — and patron of epic poetry and eloquence in the Hellenistic-Roman systematisation. Mother of Orpheus by the Thracian king Oeagrus; a late Latin tradition additionally makes her mother of the Sirens, though the dominant Greek tradition assigns that role to Melpomene or Terpsichore. Her attribute in Roman iconography is the writing-tablet and stylus.

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