Representations or analogues of one or more of the nine Muses of Greek mythology have appeared in many different modern fictional works.
The list of Muses comprises:
Calliope, the Muse of epic poetry
Clio, the Muse of history
Erato, the Muse of love poetry
Euterpe, the Muse of music
Melpomene, the Muse of tragedy
Polyhymnia, the Muse of hymns
Terpsichore, the Muse of dance
Thalia, the Muse of comedy
Urania/Ourania, the Muse of astronomy
The Nine Muses
Literature
The Muses are mentioned several times throughout Rick Riordan's mythological series: Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Heroes of Olympus and The Trials of Apollo.
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! School Idol Project, the musical group, μ's, is named after the Muses, and there are nine members, just as there are nine Muses. In the anime series Kiddy Grade, several sister ships to those of the main characters are named for Muses including Calliope, Clio, Terpsichore, Erato, Euterpe, Thalia, and Polyhymnia. In the 2017 film Muse, a writer is inspired by several Muses. In the writing of the 2019 film Uncut Gems, Julia Fox was Josh Safdie's muse. In "Muse to My Ear", a 2001 season 4 episode of the television supernatural drama Charmed, the Charmed Ones must protect the Muses from a warlock who is trapping them into a magical ring. The 1980 film Xanadu, a fantasy musical revolving around Terpsichore inspiring an artist and a businessman to create a roller-skating rink/disco, stars Olivia Newton-John and, in his last film appearance, Gene Kelly. In the episode "Threshold" of The Waltons, John Boy considers using the Muses as a presentation to promote a new department of television at his college.
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. She is referenced in the 1923 poem "Aci sosi pe vremuri" ("Here arrived long ago") by Romanian poet Ion Pillat. A character from the internet fiction series Homestuck is named Calliope, since they are a "Muse of Space".
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. The tallest of the five, Calliope sometimes acts as de facto leader and spokeswoman for the others. She was voiced by Tony Award winner Lillias White, who reprised the role in the subsequent TV series. In the 2002 episode "Out of Sync" from the animated series Cyberchase, Calliope plays her lyre and she is 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 French horn), and the Beast (who plays the drums). In the 2014 season 10 episode of Supernatural, "Fan Fiction", Calliope appears as the antagonist. In the 2022 Netflix series The Sandman, Calliope is played by Greek-Canadian actress Melissanthi Mahut. In the DC comics-based television series Titans there is an AI called Calliope. In the TV show Dietland (2018) The feminist collective of peaceful resistance is called “Calliope House”. When Plum has a date and talks about it she says “what does calliope even mean, anyway?” He says “a clown, I think.”