Muses in popular culture
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The nine Muses' of Greek mythology have been portrayed in many different modern fictional works.
The muses consist of Calliope, the muse of epic poetry, Clio, the muse of history, Erato, the muse of lyric poetry, Euterpe, the muse of song, Melpomene, the muse of tragedy, Polyhymnia, the muse of hymns, Terpsichore, the muse of dance, Thalia, the muse of comedy, and Urania, the muse of astronomy.
The Nine Muses
Popular music
- In 2010, a South Korean all-female idol group debuted under the name 'Nine Muses'.
Film and television
- In the anime series Love Live!, the musical group, μ's, is named after the Muses, and there are nine members, just as there are nine muses.
Calliope
Literature
- 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.
Film and television
- 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 television supernatural drama Charmed, season 4 episode 9 "Muse to My Ear", the Charmed Ones must protect the muses from a warlock who is trapping them into a magical ring and using their inspiration to make the Forces of Evil more powerful.
- In episode 126 ("Out of Sync") from the animated series Cyberchase, Calliope plays her lyre and she's one of the four Mount Olympus band members with Apollo the Greek god of music (who plays the gong), Himaropa the siren (who plays the horn), and the Beast (who plays the drums).
- In the anime series Guilty Crown, main character Inori Yuzuriha is best known for her song Euterpe.
- In Supernatural episode "Fan Fiction" Calliope appears as the antagonist.
Theater
- Several muses are the focus of the 2007 musical Xanadu, which is based on the 1980 film of the same name. The story revolves around Clio, who is played by Kerry Butler.
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.
- 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 as "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 muse Clio is a main supporting character in Jodi Taylor's The Chronicles of St. Mary's series - using the name "Mrs. Partridge" as a cover while working as the personal assistant to Dr. Bairstowe. Her true identity as Clio is known only by the series protagonist Dr. Maxwell.
Erato
- 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.
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
- 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.
Terpsichore
Literature
- 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".
Film and television
- 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, and in the "Monty Python Cheese Shop sketch", John Cleese's character denies complaining about the music with the line "Heaven forbid. I am one who delights in all manifestations of the Terpsichorean muse."
- In the 1980 film Xanadu, Olivia Newton-John plays Kira, another version of Terpsichore, the muse of dancing and chorus, who inspires an artist Michael Beck and his bandleader friend Gene Kelly to open a nightclub.[1]
- Terpsichore is mentioned in master poet Tony Harrison's 1992 Film-Poem The Gaze of the Gorgon: 'Terpsichore, the Muse who sees, her dances done by amputees'
- 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.
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 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. Portrayed as a short and plump, she has the deepest voice amongst the five Muses depicted and true to nature, often makes the funniest comments. 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.