# Calliope, Muse of Epic Poetry

- By: Charles Meynier (French, 1768–1832)
- Date: 1798
- Medium: oil on canvas
- Classification: Painting
- Dimensions: Overall: 275 x 177 cm (108 1/4 x 69 11/16 in.)
- Culture: France, late 18th-early 19th century
- Credit line: Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund
- Museum: [Cleveland Museum of Art](https://clevelandart.org/art/2003.6.4)
- Rights: [Public domain (CC0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- Picture: https://invisiblenetwork.ai/thumbs/cma/2003.6.4/2003.6.4_web.jpg
- Who can see it: Teens profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

The eldest of the nine Greek muses, Calliope was the goddess of music, song, and dance. She was also known as the goddess of epic poetry and conferred the gift of eloquence on kings and princes. She stands here before a bust of Homer, the ancient Greek poet who wrote the Odyssey and the Iliad. This painting belongs to a cycle of five works commissioned by businessman François Boyer-Fonfréde for his home in Toulouse.