Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities of ...

, Clio ( , ; el, Κλειώ), also spelled Kleio, is the

muse In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the ...

of history, or in a few mythological accounts, the muse of

lyre The lyre () is a stringed musical instrument that is classified by Hornbostel–Sachs as a member of the lute-family of instruments. In organology, a lyre is considered a yoke lute, since it is a lute in which the strings are attached to a ...

playing.

Etymology

Clio's name is etymologically derived from the Greek root κλέω/κλείω (meaning "to recount", "to make famous" or "to celebrate"). The name's traditional Latinisation is Clio, Lewis and Short, ''A Latin Dictionary: Founded on Andrews' Edition of Freund's Latin Dictionary: Revised, Enlarged, and in Great Part Rewritten by Charlton T. Lewis, Ph.D. and Charles Short, LL.D''. The Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1879, ''s.v.'' but some modern systems such as the American Library Association-Library of Congress system use ''K'' to represent the original Greek ''

kappa Kappa (uppercase Κ, lowercase κ or cursive ; el, κάππα, ''káppa'') is the 10th letter of the Greek alphabet, representing the voiceless velar plosive sound in Ancient and Modern Greek. In the system of Greek numerals, has a value ...

'', and ''ei'' to represent the diphthong ''ει'' ( epsilon

iota Iota (; uppercase: Ι, lowercase: ι; ) is the ninth letter of the Greek alphabet. It was derived from the Phoenician letter Yodh. Letters that arose from this letter include the Latin I and J, the Cyrillic І (І, і), Yi (Ї, ї), and ...

), thus ''Kleio''.

Depiction

Clio, sometimes referred to as "the Proclaimer", is often represented with an open parchment scroll, a book, or a set of tablets.

Mythology

Like all the muses, Clio is a daughter of

Zeus Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label=genitive Boeotian Aeolic and Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label=genitive el, Δίας, ''Días'' () is the sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion, ...

and the Titaness

Mnemosyne In Greek mythology and ancient Greek religion, Mnemosyne (; grc, Μνημοσύνη, ) is the goddess of memory and the mother of the nine Muses by her nephew Zeus. In the Greek tradition, Mnemosyne is one of the Titans, the twelve divine ch ...

, goddess of memory. Along with her sister Muses, she is considered to dwell at either

Mount Helicon Mount Helicon ( grc, Ἑλικών; ell, Ελικώνας) is a mountain in the region of Thespiai in Boeotia, Greece, celebrated in Greek mythology. With an altitude of , it is located approximately from the north coast of the Gulf of Corinth ...

or Mount Parnassos. Other common locations for the Muses are Pieria in

Thessaly Thessaly ( el, Θεσσαλία, translit=Thessalía, ; ancient Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, The ...

, near to

Mount Olympus Mount Olympus (; el, Όλυμπος, Ólympos, also , ) is the highest mountain in Greece. It is part of the Olympus massif near the Thermaic Gulf of the Aegean Sea, located in the Olympus Range on the border between Thessaly and Macedonia, be ...

. She had one son, Hyacinth, with one of several kings, in various mythswith Pierus or with king Oebalus of

Sparta Sparta (Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referred ...

, or with king

Amyclas In Greek mythology, Amyclas ( grc, Ἀμύκλας) refers to two individuals: * Amyclas, a mythical king of Sparta. Pausanias, 10.9.5 *Amyclas, a Theban prince as the son of King Amphion and Niobe, daughter of Tantalus.Apollodorus, 3.5.6 He peris ...

, progenitor of the people of Amyclae, dwellers about Sparta. Some sources say she is also the mother of Hymenaios. According to Apollodorus, Clio was made to fall in love with Pierus by

Aphrodite Aphrodite ( ; grc-gre, Ἀφροδίτη, Aphrodítē; , , ) is an ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion (emotion), passion, and procreation. She was syncretized with the Roman god ...

, for Clio had derided her for her love affair with

Adonis In Greek mythology, Adonis, ; derived from the Canaanite word ''ʼadōn'', meaning "lord".R. S. P. Beekes, ''Etymological Dictionary of Greek'', Brill, 2009, p. 23. was the mortal lover of the goddess Aphrodite. One day, Adonis was gored by a ...

.Apollodorus
1.3.3
/ref> Other accounts credit her as the mother of Linus, a poet who was buried at Argos, although Linus has a number of differing parents depending upon the account, including several accounts in which he is the son of Clio's sisters

Urania Urania ( ; grc, , Ouranía; modern Greek shortened name ''Ránia''; meaning "heavenly" or "of heaven") was, in Greek mythology, the muse of astronomy, and in later times, of Christian poetry. Urania is the goddess of astronomy and stars, h ...

or Calliope.

Legacy

In her capacity as "the proclaimer, glorifier and celebrator of history, great deeds and accomplishments,"Carder, Sheri
"Clio Awards"
''The Guide to United States popular culture'', pages 180–181, Clio is used in the name of various modern brands, including the Clio Awards for excellence in advertising. The

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

History Society is informally referred to as Clio; the Cleo of Alpha Chi society at

Trinity College, Connecticut Trinity College is a private liberal arts college in Hartford, Connecticut. Founded as Washington College in 1823, it is the second-oldest college in the state of Connecticut. Coeducational since 1969, the college enrolls 2,235 students. Trini ...

is named after the muse. Likewise, the undergraduate student outreach group for the

Penn Museum The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology—commonly known as the Penn Museum—is an archaeology and anthropology museum at the University of Pennsylvania. It is located on Penn's campus in the University City nei ...

at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universit ...

is known as the Clio Society and Geneseo College’s oldest society is ‘Clio’. 'Clio' also represents

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

in some coined words in academic usage: cliometrics, cliodynamics.

Clio Bay Clio Bay ( bg, залив Клио, zaliv Klio, ) is the 1.8 km wide bay indenting for 1.7 km the west coast of Lavoisier Island in Biscoe Islands, Antarctica. It is formed as a result of the retreat of Lavoisier Island's ice cap in the ...

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest co ...

is named after the muse.

Gallery

File:Statue of Clio in Berlin.jpg, Statue of Clio by Albert Wolff in Berlin File:Moreelse Clio - muse of history.jpg, ''Clio, Muse of History'' by Johannes Moreelse File:Gentileschi, Artemisia - Clio - 1632.jpg, ''Clio, the Muse of History'' (1632) by

Artemisia Gentileschi Artemisia Lomi or Artemisia Gentileschi (, ; 8 July 1593) was an Italian Baroque painter. Gentileschi is considered among the most accomplished seventeenth-century artists, initially working in the style of Caravaggio. She was producing profess ...

. File:Pierre Mignard - Clio - WGA15654.jpg, ''The Muse Clio'' (c. 1689) by Pierre Mignard File:Christian Bernhard Rode - Die Muse Klio.jpg, ''The Muse Clio'' by Bernhard Rode File:Charles Meynier - Clio, Muse of History - 2003.6.5 - Cleveland Museum of Art.tiff, ''Clio, Muse of History'' (1800) by Charles Meynier File:Car of history.jpg, ''Car of History'', a chariot clock depicting Clio, by Carlo Franzoni, 1819, in National Statuary Hall File:HC Lea grave LH Philly.jpg, Sculpture of Clio by

Alexander Stirling Calder Alexander Stirling Calder (January 11, 1870 – January 7, 1945) was an American sculptor and teacher. He was the son of sculptor Alexander Milne Calder and the father of sculptor Alexander (Sandy) Calder. His best-known works are ''George Washi ...

on the tomb of historian

Henry Charles Lea Henry Charles Lea (September 19, 1825 – October 24, 1909) was an American publisher, civic activist, philanthropist and historian from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He took over the family publishing business from his father, Isaac Lea, and imp ...

Notes

General and cited references

* Pausanias, ''Description of Greece'' with an English Translation by W.H.S. Jones, Litt.D., and H.A. Ormerod, M.A., in 4 Volumes. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1918.
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
* Pausanias, ''Graeciae Descriptio.'' 3 vols. Leipzig, Teubner. 1903.
Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library
*

Pseudo-Apollodorus The ''Bibliotheca'' (Ancient Greek: grc, Βιβλιοθήκη, lit=Library, translit=Bibliothēkē, label=none), also known as the ''Bibliotheca'' of Pseudo-Apollodorus, is a compendium of Greek myths and heroic legends, arranged in three book ...

, ''The Library'' with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S. in 2 Volumes, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921.
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.Greek text available from the same website

External links

Warburg Institute Iconographic Database (c. 40 images of Clio)

{{Authority control Characters in Greek mythology Children of Zeus Deeds of Aphrodite Greek Muses Greek goddesses Historiography of Greece Metamorphoses characters Music and singing goddesses Pierian mythology Wisdom goddesses