Calliope – Melissanthi Mahut,

Morpheus / Oneiros / Dream of the Endless / Dream King – Tom Sturridge,

Richard Madoc – Arthur Darvill,

Erasmus Fry – Derek Jacobi,

Fate Mother – Nina Wadia,

Fate Crone – Souad Faress,

Fate Maiden – Dinita Gohil,

Nora – Amita Suman.

"Calliope" is an adaptation of Neil Gaiman's comic book within the DC Comics series. It was originally published in 1990 as The Sandman, issue #17 (1990).

The comic book is available here (accessed: February 20, 2023). 

Sandman TV series (2022), episodes 1–10.

Calliope is a self-contained story within the series, broadcast as episode 11.2, preceded by the animated Dream of a Thousand Cats (11.1).

Richard Madoc (Arthur Darvill), a promising one-novel author, needs help finding the inspiration to write a new book. He visits Erasmus Fry (Derek Jacobi), an older writer. Erasmus tells a story from his past, when he visited Mt Helicon for inspiration for a book based on Greek mythology. Instead, he found an ancient text about the Muses and how to control them. He brings Richard to his basement, or rather a dungeon, where a young lady is held barefoot and in a thin skimpy nightgown. Fry presents his prisoner as the youngest of the nine sisters, Calliope (Melissanthi Mahut), captured by him and transported to England. Though Erasmus promised to free her before his death, she is given to Richard like an object. Since then, she is bound to him as she was to Erasmus and cannot escape. 

Richard locks the Muse away in a modest room. Although Calliope asks to be liberated as she is “a goddess, a daughter of Zeus (…), not a possession to be kept and used and traded”, the writer wants her to inspire his new book and tries to buy her service by giving her presents. The Muse insists that an author should pray to the Muses, show respect and care in exchange for divine inspiration given willingly, and not abuse the goddess against her will, as it was in the case of Erasmus, who took it from her by force. The story of her capture on Mt Helicon, told from her perspective, does not move Richard, who refuses to free her as he desperately needs inspiration that could result in his fame and glory. Eventually, when his deadline passes, he uses violence to get what he wants.

Calliope summons the Fates to hear her voice. The Fates appear but they cannot help her as she was captured according to an ancient rite and bound by law. One of the Endless* could help, but the Dream King (Morpheus/Oneiros), Calliope’s once-husband and the father of her late son, Orpheus, is imprisoned by mortals as she is herself. Besides, she believes he would never help her, and she would not accept his help because of their difficult past. 

One day Calliope has another unpleasant discussion with the writer, now a successful man, and realizes that Morpheus/Oneiros (Tom Sturridge) is free. She calls her former husband to help her. The god of dreams appears and promises to punish Richard for hurting the goddess and inspire him to free her. The writer is given an abundance of ideas and, unable to write them all down, goes mad and finally frees the Muse after over 60 years of imprisonment.

Calliope and Oneiros agree to meet one day to talk about their late son and, at last, mourn him properly together. The Muse then goes away to improve the world and its laws.

* According to Gaiman, the Endless are children of Night and Time, embodiments of natural forces.

Although Morpheus is the central character of the entire series, in this particular episode, Calliope, the Muse of Homer, is the true protagonist and not just one of the side characters.

The episode about the captured Muse is an opportunity to discuss the difficult theme of abuse. Erasmus Fry acts as a male lord, self-confident of his superiority over the Muse, whom he does not consider a goddess, woman, or even a human being worthy of respect. He keeps Calliope locked in a dungeon despite the fact that she cannot break her bond. He cannot bear to see the grieving face of a profoundly hurt person. Erasmus is a harsh master; he considers violence the best way of treating the Muse as he confesses to Richard: “I found force to be most effective”. He encourages Richard not to pity Calliope or be kind to her to receive inspiration, as she is not a human and is “made for this”. Prima facie, the new owner, plans to treat the captured Muse better. In fact, he only replicates Fry’s abuse. When the Muse refuses to inspire the writer willingly, he violates her. The rape is not shown on the screen but the viewer has no doubts that a sexual assault takes place. The scene opens with Richard sitting at his desk, staring at an empty screen, and having no idea what to write. Then, he decides to use the Muse and knocks on her door. Finally, we see him writing in a “manic fit”, his face marked with fingernail scratches and this image is a more powerful message than an outright rape directly affecting the viewer’s mind. It brings to mind cases of domestic violence when a helpless woman sequestrated at home against her will is abused secretly and the perpetrator is considered by society to be a “decent guy”. The fact that it can be done to a mighty and wise goddess renders the situation even more terrifying for the viewer. For the proud daughter of Zeus to be treated as property is unbearable as she cannot use her divine power against an ancient superior law. What remains is her strength of character – in spite of being a degraded, demeaned, defiled, and abused prisoner, she retains her dignity, the viewer feels her moral force, as justice (and not the law) is on her side. Her divine clemency is shown at the end when despite Dream’s willingness to avenge her, she is able to forgive. 

References to Greek Antiquity are well thought out and the connection between mythological characters in the TV series and their original ancient models is strong. It is not limited to the use of names of Greek deities. Their traits and attributes are rooted in ancient sources, and the comic book’s images acquire more expression when adapted into a television series. An example of such an enhancement can be seen in the development of Calliope’s character. In the comic book, she is drawn as a very tall and thin figure with curly blonde hair. In the adaptation, Calliope’s character is created by Melisanthi Mahut, known from her voice role of Kassandra, the canonical hero misthios [Greek – mercenary, a player who performs tasks for a payment] in the video game Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, and from the voice role of Athena in the video game Immortals Fenyx Rising. The Greek Canadian actress is a perfect choice. Her Greek accent is emphasised to show that the mythical world of gods is undeniably Greek. Since the moment Calliope is freed, she transforms into a Greek goddess – her look changes as instead of a skimpy nightgown that sexualized her, she wears ancient garments and a golden girdle. Her hair is meticulously styled to fit the image of Homer’s Muse.

As Calliope belongs to the Greek pantheon she is entangled in the web of connections known from Greek mythology. She mentions Zeus as her father; she only calls on other Greek deities to help her. She summons the Fates (the scene is available here, accessed February 20, 2023), and later calls Oneiros, Dream, one of the Endless. He is presented here as her former husband and the father of their late son, Orpheus. Their relationship failed, but the tension between the characters is still perceptible. Orpheus in the film is said to be a son of Oneiros and not Oiagros or Apollo, who are mentioned in ancient sources. The oldest of the Fates describes him in a few words: “that boy-child who went to Hades for his lady-love and died in Thrace torn apart for his sacrilege; he had a beautiful voice too”. The viewer might expect the reveal of some details about Calliope, Oneiros and Orpheus’ story in the forthcoming second season.

Camus, Cyril, “Neil Gaiman’s Sandman as a gateway from comic books to graphic novels”, Studies in the Novel 47.3 (2015): 308–18 (accessed: February 20, 2023). 

Gaiman, Neil, “Reflections on Myth”, Columbia: A Journal of Literature and Art 31 (1999): 75–84 (accessed: February 20, 2023).  

Klapcsik, Sándor, “Neil Gaiman’s Irony, Liminal Fantasies, and Fairy Tale Adaptations”, Hungarian Journal of English and American Studies (HJEAS) 14.2 (2008): 317–34 (accessed: February 20, 2023).  

Klapcsik, Sándor, “The Double-Edged Nature of Neil Gaiman’s Ironical Perspectives and Liminal Fantasies”, Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts 20.2 (2009): 193–209 (accessed: February 20, 2023). 

Mellette, Justin, “Serialization and Empire in Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman”, Studies In The Novel 47.3 (2015): 319–34 (accessed: February 20, 2023).

Pendergast, John, “Six Characters in Search of Shakespeare: Neil Gaiman’s Sandman and Shakespearian Mythos”, Mythlore 26.3/4 (2008): 185–97 (accessed: February 20, 2023).  

The interview with Louise Hooper about The Sandman. Calliope available on YouTube GooglerMY channel (accessed: February 20, 2023).