Bust from The Daughters of Niobe

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This statue is believed to be one of Niobe's daughters. In Greek mythology, the story of Niobe's children stands out as a heart-wrenching tale that has been passed down through history... Niobe is the daughter of Tantalus, King of Sipylus, and gave birth to fourteen children (Niobids), seven sons and seven daughters, all fathered by Amphion, King of Thebes. At a ceremony honoring Leto, mother of Zeus's divine twins Apollo and Artemis, Niobe boasted about her exceptional fertility and her children's unmatched beauty in front of Leto. As punishment for Niobe's pride and arrogance, the twins came down to Earth, where Apollo killed all Niobe's sons and Artemis killed all her daughters. Before Apollo killed his last living son, Niobe begged him to spare his life, but he refused. Some versions of the story believe that one of the daughters, Chloris, and her brother Amyclas survived because they prayed to Leto. Chloris became the wife of Neleus, son of Poseidon, and the mother of Nestor, who was given by Apollo all the years of life taken away from the Niobids. As for Amphion, it is believed that he either killed himself due to his devastating loss or was also killed by Apollo when trying to avenge his children's deaths. Regardless, Niobe was so heartbroken that she went to Mount Sipylus and pleaded with the gods to end her pain. Moved by sympathy, Zeus turned her into stone, where even as a rock Niobe continued to cry endless tears, creating a stream. It is said that no one buried the Niobids until the ninth day after their death, when the gods themselves entombed them, just as Zeus had also turned the people she ruled into stone.