Niobe explored; briefly

OVID - Delacroix 1859 - Met - New York

In 8 AD Caesar Augustus banished Ovid to the

Black Sea where he drank mare's milk and languished
having finished writing Metamorphoses

before he left Rome
Photo by Tom Ferguson, Scribe 2018

Niobe's story also involves the now familiar theme that the gods are quick to wreak vengeance on human pride and arrogance (hubris**). Niobe, however, is the subject of lost tragedies by both Aeschylus and Sophocles. Is it her grieving tears that drew the interest of those early and most forward tragedians? Not likely in my view. Then, too, why all the interest in the grisly results (14 of her children are slain by the gods) when she ignores this imperative?

A 1772 painting by Jacques-Louis David depicting Niobe attempting to shield her children
from Artemis and Apollo. She fails and all 14, seven sons and seven daughters are mortally wounded,
the sons by Apollo and the daughters by Artemis.

Let's attempt a close (or at least a closer) reading of this compelling text to suggest what today, possibly, is the meaning of this tale?

 In exploring Niobe through the poem and the since evinced art & commentary I wonder why all the grieving?  There is little question as to her off-putting pride & arrogance. We see this in the first section, below. 

           A mourning Niobe (center) flanked by attendants,
              detail of an Apulian red-figure loutrophoros,
                                    c. 330 BCE
                   J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles.

To survive one's children is punishment beyond imagination, but that is precisely what the gods select. But what good does this do? Surely Niobe is bummed by all of this killing. It might have served as a wake-up call for her, but no longer.  It is too late for Niobe.  She is incapable of understanding her hubris as a moral failure in the extreme thus ensuring those close to her are hurt. The punishment by the gods, I believe, stands as a cautionary tale. The mother is egregiously self-centered as we see. The consequence both in the myth and in life is captured in this truth: "the apples don't fall far from the tree". A narcissistic Niobe will raise damaged children. In the extreme, children unable to relate to others. In my view the gods act independently and after the fact. To explain their killing one must consider it a metaphor. So the metaphoric killing of Niobe's 7 sons and 7 daughters means the real consequence  of hubris, in the minds and actions of the children, is that it lives on to the next generation. Niobe is a malignant narcissist. She doesn't even understand why she is sad.

Niobe is the daughter of Tantalus, and the Great Aunt of Agamemnon.

Papyrus fragments of Sophocles "Niobe" show that Apollo and Artemis appear onstage together, and Apollo points out Niobe’s daughter for his sister to kill. The number of her children, which varies with different authors, is generally given in post-Homeric literature as seven sons and seven daughters. Sons are methodically killed by Apollo shooting poison arrows; her daughters by Apollo's sister, Artemis (Diana in Roman mythology).

The Grief of Niobe Celebrated in Art

Niobe_Pushkin

Weeping Niobe - Mt .Sipylus - Manisa, Turkey 

**In ancient Greek, hubris referred to actions that shamed and humiliated the victim for the pleasure or gratification of the abuser. The term had a strong sexual connotation, and the shame reflected upon the perpetrator as well. Violations of the law against hubris included what might today be termed assault and battery; sexual crimes; or the theft of public or sacred property.

Niobe in an Assisted Living Home:

Watercolor by Kathleen Stumpfel 2018