Calliope is a musical instrument that consists of a set of tuned whistles controlled by either a keyboard or a mechanical playing system like that of a player piano. The whistles are sounded by the release of either steam or compressed air, in the manner of an organ pipe. The calliope produces loud music, and is generally associated with river excursion steamboats and circuses. Special decorated wagons housed the calliope in circus parades.
Joshua C. Stoddard, an American inventor, patented the first practical calliope in 1855. He built the first instrument in 1856.
Circus people pronounce the word KAL ee ohp. Others usually say kuh LY uh pee, as in the name of Calliope, the goddess of epic poetry in Greek mythology.
