Chapter XXII: Niobe

Niobe was the daughter of Tantalus, and the wife of King Amphion, who by means of his singing and playing had built a wall round Thebes.[1] She and her husband were rich and prosperous, but beyond all their other treasures they prized their twelve noble and beautiful children. There were six sons and six daughters, and they were the pride of Niobe's heart. She looked down upon all other women because they were none of them so fortunate as herself, and once she even dared to say that she was superior to the goddess Leto, for that Leto had only two children, and she had six times as many. When Leto heard this she was stung to the quick, and she went weeping to her children and told them of it. These children were the god Apollo and the goddess Artemis, and they were very angry with Niobe for vexing their mother, and resolved to punish her for her pride.

One day the sons of Niobe were in the courtyard wrestling with each other, for they were skilled in wrestling as becomes young heroes, and the mother and {81} sisters were standing by, watching them. All at once one of the youths groaned, sank down, and died. He had been hit by one of the arrows of Apollo, which were invisible and deadly, killing instantly whoever was hit by them. The mother, brothers and sisters gathered round the youth, unable to believe that he was dead, when suddenly a maiden sank upon her knees, heaved a sigh, and died also. She had been hit by one of the arrows of Artemis, which were invisible like those of Apollo. Son after son, and daughter after daughter was killed by the unseen arrows, and Niobe knew that this was a punishment for her pride. The youth who was first struck down was not yet cold when the only one of all her children left to Niobe was the youngest daughter, whom she loved best of all. The little girl had always found protection in her mother's lap, and now, when the fear that she must die like her brothers and sisters came over her, she ran to her mother and clung to her knees for shelter. Niobe took her up in her arms, and wrapping her veil round her as if it could shield her from the unseen enemy, she looked up to heaven and cried from her inmost soul, 'Spare me but this one!' But at that moment she felt her daughter convulsed in her arms, and the last of her children was dead.

There was great distress throughout the city. King Amphion tore his hair and threw himself on the earth with frantic cries of grief, and the citizens wept and lamented. But Niobe shed no tears, no word of sorrow came out of her mouth, and she kept her eyes fixed on the ground, still clasping her youngest daughter to her {82} breast, while the other corpses lay around her. The night came on and the others went into the house, but Niobe remained standing in the starlight amongst her dead children, and when the people came back in the morning, she had turned to stone.

[1] See p. 50.

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