Niobids
Encyclopedia
In Greek mythology
, the Niobids were the children of Amphion
of Thebes
and Niobe
, slain by Apollo
and Artemis
because Niobe, born of the royal house of Phrygia
, had boastfully compared the greater number of her own offspring with those of Leto
, Apollo's and Artemis' mother: a classic example of hubris
.
The number of Niobids mentioned most usually numbered twelve (Homer
) or fourteen (Euripides
and pseudo-Apollodorus), but other sources mention twenty, four (Herodotus
), or eighteen (Sappho
). Generally half these children were sons, the other half daughters. The names of some of the children are mentioned; these lists vary by author:
Other different names were also mentioned, including Amyclas, Meliboea (also in Apollodorus, see below) and Chione.
Manto
, the seeress daughter of Tiresias
, overheard Niobe's remark and bid the Theban women placate Leto, in vain. Apollo and Artemis slew all the children of Niobe with their arrows, Apollo shooting the sons, Artemis the daughters. According to some sources, however, two of the Niobids who had supplicated Leto were spared: Apollodorus gives their names as Meliboea
(Chloris) and Amyclas
. Another apparent survivor is Phylomache, who is mentioned by Apollodorus as one of the two possible spouses of Pelias
. The Niobids were buried by the gods at Thebes
. Ovid
remarked that all men mourned Amphion, for the extinction of his line, but none mourned Niobe save her brother Pelops
.
in its Augustan
rebuild depicted their death. They are also known from figurative sculpture, examples of which are to be found at the Palazzo Massimo in Rome and in the group of Niobids (including Niobe sheltering one of her daughters) found in Rome in 1583 along with the Wrestlers
and brought to the Uffizi
in Florence in 1775.
Greek mythology
Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
, the Niobids were the children of Amphion
Amphion
There are several characters named Amphion in Greek mythology:* Amphion, son of Zeus and Antiope, and twin brother of Zethus . Together they are famous for building Thebes. Amphion married Niobe, and killed himself after the loss of his wife and children at the hands of Apollo and Artemis...
of Thebes
Thebes, Greece
Thebes is a city in Greece, situated to the north of the Cithaeron range, which divides Boeotia from Attica, and on the southern edge of the Boeotian plain. It played an important role in Greek myth, as the site of the stories of Cadmus, Oedipus, Dionysus and others...
and Niobe
Niobe
Niobe was a daughter of Tantalus and of either Dione, the most frequently cited, or of Eurythemista or Euryanassa, and she was the sister of Pelops and Broteas, all of whom figure in Greek mythology....
, slain by Apollo
Apollo
Apollo is one of the most important and complex of the Olympian deities in Greek and Roman mythology...
and Artemis
Artemis
Artemis was one of the most widely venerated of the Ancient Greek deities. Her Roman equivalent is Diana. Some scholars believe that the name and indeed the goddess herself was originally pre-Greek. Homer refers to her as Artemis Agrotera, Potnia Theron: "Artemis of the wildland, Mistress of Animals"...
because Niobe, born of the royal house of Phrygia
Phrygia
In antiquity, Phrygia was a kingdom in the west central part of Anatolia, in what is now modern-day Turkey. The Phrygians initially lived in the southern Balkans; according to Herodotus, under the name of Bryges , changing it to Phruges after their final migration to Anatolia, via the...
, had boastfully compared the greater number of her own offspring with those of Leto
Leto
In Greek mythology, Leto is a daughter of the Titans Coeus and Phoebe. The island of Kos is claimed as her birthplace. In the Olympian scheme, Zeus is the father of her twins, Apollo and Artemis, the Letoides, which Leto conceived after her hidden beauty accidentally caught the eyes of Zeus...
, Apollo's and Artemis' mother: a classic example of hubris
Hubris
Hubris , also hybris, means extreme haughtiness, pride or arrogance. Hubris often indicates a loss of contact with reality and an overestimation of one's own competence or capabilities, especially when the person exhibiting it is in a position of power....
.
The number of Niobids mentioned most usually numbered twelve (Homer
Homer
In the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...
) or fourteen (Euripides
Euripides
Euripides was one of the three great tragedians of classical Athens, the other two being Aeschylus and Sophocles. Some ancient scholars attributed ninety-five plays to him but according to the Suda it was ninety-two at most...
and pseudo-Apollodorus), but other sources mention twenty, four (Herodotus
Herodotus
Herodotus was an ancient Greek historian who was born in Halicarnassus, Caria and lived in the 5th century BC . He has been called the "Father of History", and was the first historian known to collect his materials systematically, test their accuracy to a certain extent and arrange them in a...
), or eighteen (Sappho
Sappho
Sappho was an Ancient Greek poet, born on the island of Lesbos. Later Greeks included her in the list of nine lyric poets. Her birth was sometime between 630 and 612 BC, and it is said that she died around 570 BC, but little is known for certain about her life...
). Generally half these children were sons, the other half daughters. The names of some of the children are mentioned; these lists vary by author:
- ApollodorusApollodorusApollodorus of Athens son of Asclepiades, was a Greek scholar and grammarian. He was a pupil of Diogenes of Babylon, Panaetius the Stoic, and the grammarian Aristarchus of Samothrace...
: AgenorAgenorAgenor was in Greek mythology and history a Phoenician king of Tyre. Herodotus estimates that Agenor lived sometime before the year 2000 B.C..-Genealogy:...
, Astycratia, AstyocheAstyocheThe name Astyoche or Astyocheia was attributed to the following individuals in Greek mythology.*Daughter of the river god Simoeis, mother of Tros by Erichthonius....
, Cleodoxa, Damasichthon, Eupinytus, Ismenus, NeaeraNeaeraNeaera, Neæra, or Neaira are different transliterations of an Ancient Greek name . They may refer to:-Characters in Ancient Greek mythology and history:* Neaira , a prostitute in the 4th century BC...
, OgygiaOgygiaOgygia , is an island mentioned in Homer's Odyssey, Book V, as the home of the nymph Calypso, the daughter of the Titan Atlas, also known as Atlantis in ancient Greek. In Homer's Odyssey Calypso detained Odysseus on Ogygia for 7 years and kept him from returning to his home of Ithaca, wanting to...
, PelopiaPelopiaIn Greek mythology, Pelopia was a name attributed to four individuals:- Daughter of Thyestes :Pelopia, less commonly known as Mnesiphae, was the daughter of Thyestes. Thyestes had been fighting with his brother, Atreus, for the throne of Mycenae for some time, as well as having an affair with...
, Phaedimus, PhthiaPhthiaPhthia , Phthíē ) in ancient Greece was the southernmost region of ancient Thessaly, on both sides of Othrys Mountain. It was the homeland of the Myrmidones tribe, who took part in the Trojan War under Achilles....
, Phylomache, Sipylus, TantalusTantalusTantalus was the ruler of an ancient western Anatolian city called either after his name, as "Tantalís", "the city of Tantalus", or as "Sipylus", in reference to Mount Sipylus, at the foot of which his city was located and whose ruins were reported to be still visible in the beginning of the... - HyginusHyginusHyginus can refer to:People:*Gaius Julius Hyginus , Roman poet, author of Fabulae, reputed author of Poeticon astronomicon*Hyginus Gromaticus, Roman surveyor*Pope Hyginus, also a saint, Bishop of Rome about 140...
: Archenor, Astycratia, Astynome, Chias, ChlorisChloristhumb|250px|right| "As she talks, her lips breathe spring roses:I was Chloris, who am now called Flora." [[Ovid]]There are many stories in Greek mythology about figures named Chloris...
, Cleodoxa, Damasichthon, Eudoxa, Eupinytus, Ismenus, Neaera, Ogygia, Phaedimus, Phthia, Sipylus, Tantalus, Thera - OvidOvidPublius Ovidius Naso , known as Ovid in the English-speaking world, was a Roman poet who is best known as the author of the three major collections of erotic poetry: Heroides, Amores, and Ars Amatoria...
: Alphenor, Damasichthon, Ilioneus, Ismenus, Phaedimus, Sipylus, Tantalus; the daughters' names are not given.
Other different names were also mentioned, including Amyclas, Meliboea (also in Apollodorus, see below) and Chione.
Manto
Manto (mythology)
There are several distinct figures in Greek mythology named Manto, the most prominent being the daughter of Tiresias. The name Manto derives from Ancient Greek Mantis, "seer, prophet" .-Daughter of Tiresias:...
, the seeress daughter of Tiresias
Tiresias
In Greek mythology, Tiresias was a blind prophet of Thebes, famous for clairvoyance and for being transformed into a woman for seven years. He was the son of the shepherd Everes and the nymph Chariclo; Tiresias participated fully in seven generations at Thebes, beginning as advisor to Cadmus...
, overheard Niobe's remark and bid the Theban women placate Leto, in vain. Apollo and Artemis slew all the children of Niobe with their arrows, Apollo shooting the sons, Artemis the daughters. According to some sources, however, two of the Niobids who had supplicated Leto were spared: Apollodorus gives their names as Meliboea
Meliboea
In Greek mythology, Meliboea was a name attributed to the following individuals:*The wife of Magnes, who named the town of Meliboea in Thessaly after her. The town of Meliboea became a kingdom in eastern Thessalia . Nowadays, Meliboea is a municipality of Larissa prefecture...
(Chloris) and Amyclas
Amyclas
In Greek mythology, Amyclas refers to three individuals:*Amyclas was the son of Lacedemon and Sparta, and he was the brother of Eurydice . According to Pseudo-Apollodorus, he was the father of Hyacinth and Cynortas; according to Pausanias, he was also the father of Laodamia or Leaneira, wife of...
. Another apparent survivor is Phylomache, who is mentioned by Apollodorus as one of the two possible spouses of Pelias
Pelias
Pelias was king of Iolcus in Greek mythology, the son of Tyro and Poseidon. His wife is recorded as either Anaxibia, daughter of Bias, or Phylomache, daughter of Amphion. He was the father of Acastus, Pisidice, Alcestis, Pelopia, Hippothoe, Asteropia, and Antinoe.Tyro was married to Cretheus...
. The Niobids were buried by the gods at Thebes
Thebes, Greece
Thebes is a city in Greece, situated to the north of the Cithaeron range, which divides Boeotia from Attica, and on the southern edge of the Boeotian plain. It played an important role in Greek myth, as the site of the stories of Cadmus, Oedipus, Dionysus and others...
. Ovid
Ovid
Publius Ovidius Naso , known as Ovid in the English-speaking world, was a Roman poet who is best known as the author of the three major collections of erotic poetry: Heroides, Amores, and Ars Amatoria...
remarked that all men mourned Amphion, for the extinction of his line, but none mourned Niobe save her brother Pelops
Pelops
In Greek mythology, Pelops , was king of Pisa in the Peloponnesus. He was the founder of the House of Atreus through his son of that name....
.
Variant myth
In another version of the myth, the Niobids are the children of Philottus and Niobe, daughter of Assaon. When Niobe dared to dispute with Leto about the beauty of her children, her punishment was as follows. Assaon made advances to his own daughter, which she refused. He then invited her children to a banquet and burnt them all to death. Philottus had perished whilst hunting. As a result of these calamities, Niobe flung herself from a high rock. Assaon, reflecting over his crimes, also killed himself.Art
Due to their appearance in the mythology of Apollo, male and female Niobids frequently appeared in classical art. One of the two ivory reliefs added to the doors of the Temple of Apollo PalatinusTemple of Apollo Palatinus
The Temple of Apollo Palatinus was a temple on the Palatine Hill of ancient Rome, which was first dedicated by Augustus to his patron god Apollo. It was only the second temple in Rome dedicated to the god, after the Temple of Apollo Sosianus...
in its Augustan
Augustus
Augustus ;23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.The dates of his rule are contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian...
rebuild depicted their death. They are also known from figurative sculpture, examples of which are to be found at the Palazzo Massimo in Rome and in the group of Niobids (including Niobe sheltering one of her daughters) found in Rome in 1583 along with the Wrestlers
Wrestlers (sculpture)
The Wrestlers — also known as The Two Wrestlers , The Uffizi Wrestlers or The Pancrastinae — is a famous Roman marble sculpture after a lost Greek original of the third century BCE, now in the Uffizi collection in Florence, Italy-Description, style and authorship:The two young men are engaged in...
and brought to the Uffizi
Uffizi
The Uffizi Gallery , is a museum in Florence, Italy. It is one of the oldest and most famous art museums of the Western world.-History:...
in Florence in 1775.