Niobe's Children
The fourteen children of Niobe, killed by Apollo and Artemis after their mother boasted of being superior to Leto, the divine twins' mother.
The Meaning of Niobe's Children
Niobe, queen of Thebes and daughter of Tantalus, had fourteen children — seven sons and seven daughters — and boasted that she was more blessed than Leto, who had borne only two. Leto's children were Apollo and Artemis, and they took lethal offence. Apollo, god of archery, hunted down the seven sons — some on the hunting field, some at exercise, some at play. Artemis then killed the seven daughters, piercing them with arrows as they mourned their brothers. Niobe, watching her children die one by one, was petrified by grief — literally turned to stone. The rock, still weeping with springs of water, was identified with a formation on Mount Sipylus in Lydia. Amphion, Niobe's husband, either killed himself in grief or was slain by Apollo for attacking the god's temple. The myth was paradigmatic for Greek audiences: no mortal should compare themselves to the divine. Niobe's fate was invoked whenever hubris demanded illustration.
Children
Fourteen children (all killed)
Symbols
Fun Fact
The chemical element niobium (Nb, atomic number 41) was named after Niobe because niobium always occurs alongside tantalum — named after her father Tantalus — in mineral deposits. Father and daughter, linked by myth, are linked by chemistry. The weeping rock on Mount Sipylus in modern Turkey still exists and still appears to "weep" due to mineral-rich springs — a geological formation that has been making people think of a grieving mother for at least 2,700 years.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth. See our full guide to English words from Greek mythology.
Explore Further
Niobe's Punishment
💭 conceptNarrative
The destruction of a queen's fourteen children by Apollo and Artemis for her boast of superiority to the goddess Leto
Phaethon's Ride
💭 concepthubris, catastrophe
The myth of Helios's son who drove the sun chariot across the sky, lost control, and was struck down by Zeus to prevent the earth from burning.
Oedipus Cycle
💭 conceptNarrative
The interconnected myths tracing the cursed lineage of Oedipus from prophecy to tragic fulfilment
Hippolytus and Phaedra
💭 conceptNarrative
A tragedy of forbidden desire, false accusation, and divine cruelty destroying an innocent young prince
Metamorphoses
💭 conceptTransformation, punishment, mercy
Stories of mortals and gods reshaped into new forms — by love, divine punishment, or compassion — central to how Greeks explained the natural world.
Theban Cycle
💭 conceptepic, dynasty
The cycle of myths surrounding the cursed royal house of Thebes, from Cadmus's founding through Oedipus's tragedy to the war of the Seven and their sons.
Hubris
💭 conceptThe overstepping that invites divine punishment
The supreme Greek sin of overstepping one's mortal bounds, degrading others, or presuming equality with the gods.
House of Atreus
💭 conceptNarrative
The cursed royal dynasty of Mycenae whose generations of bloodshed and vengeance form the darkest saga in Greek mythology
Twelve Labours of Heracles
💭 conceptNarrative
The twelve impossible tasks imposed upon Heracles as penance for killing his family in a divine madness
Goddess of Fate
💭 conceptFate, destiny, lifespan, inevitability
The Moirai — Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos — spin, measure, and cut the thread of every life.
Perseus and Medusa
💭 conceptNarrative
The hero's quest to slay the mortal Gorgon and his ingenious use of divine gifts to accomplish the impossible
House of Oedipus
💭 conceptDynasty, fate
The doomed Theban royal line of Laius and Oedipus, destroyed by patricide, incest, and fraternal war