However, even as a rock, Niobe continued to cry. Zeus felt sorry for her and transformed her into a rock, to make her feelings of stone. There she pleaded Gods to give an end in her pain. And so it was that Niobe's entire family had been wiped out by the gods in a matter of moments, and in deep anguish, she ran to Mount Sipylus. Some versions say that he too was killed by Apollo when he tried to avenge his children's deaths. Turning into a rockĭevastated by the slaughter of his children, Amphion committed suicide. Artemis, the virgin goddess of nature and hunting, killed Niobe's seven daughters with her lethal arrows and their dead bodies were lying unburied for nine days. Apollo, the god of light and music, killed all seven of Niobe's sons with his powerful arrows in front of their mother's eyes.Īlthough Niobe was pleading Apollo to feel mercy for her last surviving son, Apollo's lethal arrow had already left his bow to find its mark with deadly accuracy, thus wiping out all the male descendants of Niobe. When the twins knew this insult, they got enraged and at once, came down to Earth to kill the children of Niobe. In fact, Niobe said that she was superior to Leto, as she had fourteen children and not only two. The fatal mistake and the horrible crimeĪt a ceremony held in honor of Leto, the mother of the divine twins, Apollo and Artemis, who was also living in Thebes, Niobe, in a fit of arrogance, bragged about her fourteen children. Niobe and Amphion gave birth to fourteen children, seven sons and seven daughters.

This was a turning point in her life and a series of tragic events followed, to give her a distinct place in one of the most tragic dramas in Greek mythology. When Niobe grew up, she got married to Amphion, king of Thebes. Niobe had two brothers, Broteas and Pelops, who would later be a legendary hero and would give his name to Peloponnese. Her father was Tantalus, king of a town above Mount Sipylus in Anatolia, but we do not know exactly who her mother was. The tragic tale of Niobe is one of the most poignant in Greek mythology.

Discover the myth of Niobe, a tragic story The beginning of the story Therefore, it is not a surprise that the legend of Niobe appears in one of our oldest and best sources for Greek myths, the Iliad of Homer. This myth was popular in ancient literature, poetry and art. The tragic tale of Niobe is one of the most memorable Greek myths, for Niobe's story features a striking example of the consequences of hubris, a Greek term defined as arrogance or excessive pride.

Consequences by Tantalus