Muses in popular culture

The nine Muses of Greek mythology have been portrayed in many different modern fictional works.

Calliope

Literature

• In Fool on the Hill by Matt Ruff, magical woman named Calliope acts as a Muse for the protagonist of the novel. Though she is never explicitly said to be the Calliope of Greek mythology, she is immortal, magical, and is described as enjoying retsina and feta, both Greek foods.

• Calliope is the name of a character in Francesca Lia Block's novels Ecstasia and Primavera, both of which are heavily influenced by myth.

• The muse Calliope is a character in the graphic novel Sandman, by Neil Gaiman. Her story, Calliope is in the 1990 trade paperback Dream Country. According to the comic's canon, Calliope was the youngest (rather than the eldest) muse as well as a one-time lover of Dream, by whom she bore Orpheus.

• In Terry Pratchett's Discworld novel Soul Music, characters make frequent reference to a Muse called Cantaloupe (hesitating because they are unsure whether the name is right).

• Calliope is the name of a character in Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides, a novel containing frequent allusions to Greek mythology.

• In Nick Sagan's Idlewild, the main character, suffers amnesia after a power surge, referred to as the Calliope Surge. The author notes that the muse Calliope was the daughter of Mnemosyne, the personification of memory.

• Calliope is the name of the poet protagonist of Andrew Foster Altschul's novel Lady Lazarus.

Film and television

• In the season four Simpsons episode Treehouse of Horror III, school nerd Martin Prince dresses as Calliope during the Simpsons' Halloween party.

• Calliope features in the 1997 Walt Disney Pictures film Hercules, appearing alongside the muses Clio, Melpomene, Terpsichore and Thalia, who collectively serve as a Greek chorus. She was voiced by Tony Award winner Lillias White, who reprised the role in the subsequent TV series.

• In the Xena: Warrior Princess season 4 episode "A Tale of Two Muses", a town of worshipers of Calliope is convinced to overturn their ban on dancing, a dictate they believe the muse herself handed down.

• In the Frasier season 7 episode "They're Playing Our Song", Frasier thanks Calliope for the theme he writes for his show.

• In the 2005 film Sahara, James Sandecker's yacht is named the Calliope.

• In the television drama Grey's Anatomy, Callie Torres's real name is Calliope.

Theater

• Calliope is a character in the 2007 musical Xanadu, which is based on the 1980 film of the same name. She was played by Jackie Hoffman in the original Broadway production.

Video games

• In the God of War video game series, Calliope is the name of the daughter of Kratos, the protagonist. Although she is not a muse, she does play a flute.

Clio

• In Batman: The Animated Series, Clio is the name of criminal mastermind Maxie Zeus's girlfriend. Maxie suffers from a god complex, believing that he is the Greek god Zeus and that his girlfriend is a Muse.
• In the book Girl at Sea by Maureen Johnson, the protagonist is named Clio after the Muse.
• Clio features in the 1997 Walt Disney Pictures film Hercules, appearing alongside the muses Calliope, Melpomene, Terpsichore and Thalia, who collectively serve as a Greek chorus. She was voiced by Vanéese Y. Thomas, who reprised the role in the subsequent TV series.
• Clio (also known is "Kira") is the lead character in the 2007 musical Xanadu, which is based on the 1980 film of the same name. She was played by Kerry Butler in the original Broadway production.
• The muse Clio is a character in Piers Anthony's Xanth series. She features as the protagonist in the book Currant Events.
• The Renault Clio is a popular hatchback car.
• The CLIO Awards honour achievement in advertising.

Erato

• Erato is the name of a Bosnian R&B duo.
• A teenaged Erato, going by the name "Era", is one of the three lead characters in Clea Hantman's Goddesses series.
• Erato is a character in the 2007 musical Xanadu, which is based on the 1980 film of the same name. She was played by Kenita R. Miller in the original Broadway production.

Euterpe

• Euterpe is a character in the 2007 musical Xanadu, which is based on the 1980 film of the same name. She was played by Anika Larsen in the original Broadway production.

Melpomene

• Melpomene is mentioned in the first line of George Peele's poem "Œnone's Complaint" and also in Section LVI of John Keats' poem "Isabella; or The Pot of Basil".
• Melpominée is the name of the discipline developed and used by the Daughters of Cacophony in the role playing game Vampire: the Masquerade.
• The song "Melpomene", by Danish rock band Kashmir,portrays a story of tragic love.
• In the video games Dead or Alive 2 and Dead or Alive 4, the character Helena Douglas' fight theme is entitled "Blazed up Melpomene".
• Melpomene features in the 1997 Walt Disney Pictures film Hercules, appearing alongside the muses Calliope, Clio, Terpsichore and Thalia, who collectively serve as a Greek chorus. She was voiced by Broadway actress Cheryl Freeman, who reprised the role in the subsequent TV series.
• Melpomene is a character in the 2007 musical Xanadu, which is based on the 1980 film of the same name. She was played by Mary Testa in the original Broadway production.

Polyhymnia

• In the 1951 Danish film Mød mig på Cassiopeia ("Meet me on Cassiopeia"), the muse Polyhymnia appears before the protagonist and inspires him to finish his work.
• Polyhymnia is one of the main characters in the 1955 Tom Puss story De Muzenis.
• The protagonist of Madeleine L'Engle's Polly O'Keefe novels is named after the muse Polyhymnia.
• A teenaged Polyhymnia, going by the name "Polly", is one of the three lead characters in Clea Hantman's Goddesses series.

Terpsichore

Terpsichore holding an Aeolian harp. Sculpted in marble by John Walsh in 1771.

Literature

• Kurt Vonnegut's character Rabo Karabekian briefly makes reference to Terpsichore in the 1987 novel Bluebeard.
• In Daniel Quinn's My Ishmael, the fictional planet Terpischore is a land ravished by dancing, with dancing paralleling the rise of agriculture on Earth. Dancing (in an unspecified manner) speeds up the growth of the natives' "favorite foods".
• In the China Miéville novel "The Scar", the main characters travel on a ship called the Terpsichoria.

Film and TV

• The muse Terpsichore is the protagonist in the 1947 film Down to Earth. She is portrayed by Rita Hayworth.
• "Terpsichorean" was a popular adjective in Victorian music hall hyperbole. The long-running BBC TV series The Good Old Days recreated this style, with Leonard Sachs playing a compère with a notable fondness for the word.
• In the 1980 film Xanadu, Olivia Newton John plays the muse Terpsichore (or "Kira"), who lends her inspiration to a dance club called "Xanadu".
• Terpsichore features in the 1997 Walt Disney Pictures film Hercules, appearing alongside the muses Calliope, Clio, Melpomene and Thalia, who collectively serve as a Greek chorus. She was voiced by LaChanze, who reprised the role in the subsequent TV series.
• In the anime series Cowboy Bebop, two characters' take their names from the muse: Valeria Terpsichore and her unseen, but alluded to, husband Ural Terpsichore.

Music

• Terpsichore is mentioned in the lyrics to the song Come Dance With Me written by Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen for Frank Sinatra.

Theater

• Terpsichore is a character in the 2007 musical Xanadu, which is based on the 1980 film of the same name. Her part is always played by a man in drag. She was played by Andre Ward in the original Broadway production.

Thalia

The Greco-Roman mask of Thalia in a Three Stooges comedy short title card.

• The comic mask of Thalia featured in each title card of every Three Stooges short produced from the 1945 Idiots Deluxe until their final one in 1959, Sappy Bull Fighters.
• Thalia features in the 1997 Walt Disney Pictures film Hercules, appearing alongside the muses Calliope, Clio, Melpomene and Terpsichore, who collectively serve as a Greek chorus. She was voiced by Roz Ryan, who reprised the role in the subsequent TV series.
• In the Static Shock episode "Hard as Nails", Harley Quinn uses the alias "Thalia".
• Thalia is a character in the 2007 musical Xanadu, which is based on the 1980 film of the same name. Her part is always played by a man in drag. She was played by Curtis Holbrook in the original Broadway production.
• A teenaged Thalia is the narrator and one of the three lead characters in Clea Hantman's Goddesses series.
• In the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series, one of the lead characters is named Thalia Grace. Like her namesake, she is a daughter of Zeus.

Urania

• Urania is the name of a long-running Italian science fiction magazine.
• Urania appears as a character (among other gods and mythic figures) in a comic drawn by Larry Gonick for the children's science magazine Muse..