Niobe
heroA queen who boasted that her fourteen children made her superior to the goddess Leto, who had only two. Apollo and Artemis killed all fourteen, and Niobe wept until she turned to stone.
The Myth
Niobe was a queen of Thebes and daughter of Tantalus. She was blessed with extraordinary fortune: beauty, wealth, a powerful husband, and fourteen children — seven sons and seven daughters. But Niobe's pride in her children led to catastrophic hubris.
When the people of Thebes gathered to worship Leto, mother of Apollo and Artemis, Niobe interrupted the ceremony. She demanded they worship her instead: "I have fourteen children; Leto has only two. I am more worthy of divine honors." She forbade the worship of Leto entirely.
Leto's children were swift to avenge their mother. Apollo, with his silver bow, killed all seven of Niobe's sons. Artemis killed all seven daughters. Niobe was left alone among the bodies of her children, weeping. Zeus, taking pity, transformed her into a rock on Mount Sipylus — but even as stone, water continues to stream from the rock, as though Niobe still weeps for her children.
Parents
Tantalus and Dione
Children
Seven sons, seven daughters (all killed)
Symbols
Fun Fact
The element niobium was named after Niobe because of its chemical similarity to tantalum (named after her father) — a daughter element beside her father.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth: