Callirhoe and Her Children. A.M. 2783.

This is one of a group of drawings by British artist and book illustrator Edward Francis Burney, depicting scenes from Greek and Roman history and mythology. This composition was used for a headpiece in 'Le Souvenir', a memorandum book published by Suttaby, Evance, Fox, Richardson/London in 1822, on the page for 16th March. There are several figures in Greek mythology names Callirhoe, several of whom have children. It is uncertain which figure this illustration is about, although it is possibly Callirhoe, daughter of Achelous. Callirhoe was obsessed with the necklace and robe of Harmonia and had asked her husband, Alkmaion, to retrieve them for her, leading to his murder (the treasure box may be indicative of this). After learning of her husband's death, Callirhoe asked Zeus, her new lover, to cause her two sons, Akarnan and Amphoteros, to instantly grow to maturity so that they can avenge their father's death.