Episode 25: Niobe
In this episode, we cover the myth of Niobe, who, because of her arrogance, loses her 12 (or 14 or 20 depending on the version) children. In antiquity, the myth was associated with a rock formation in Lydia (modern day Turkey. Below is a map of the area and an image of the rock formation.
Location of Mt. Sipylos.
Rock-face of Niobe in Mt. Sipylos.
As it turns out, my own home state has, er, had a similar rock formation that looked like a human, the so-called Old Man of the Mountain or Nis Kizos in the Abenaki tradition.
The Old Man in the Mountain (Wikipedia) before the collapse and now.
Apollo’s and Diana’s revenge against Niobe by killing her children is a frequent subject in ancient art. Here is an ancient vase (around 460 BCE) that depicts Leto’s two children dispatching Niobe’s children.
The “Niobid” painter, 5th c. BCE, housed in the Louvre.
In addition, there were several multi-figure statue groups showing the same. Here is the “dying” Niobid that shows one of Niobes’s daughters recoiling after being struck with one of Artemis’ arrows.
The Dying Niobid in the Palazzo Massimo in Rome.
And, we have an additional special treat—original art by our own Beatrice Mattison, whose interpretation blends the human and the natural in a truly subtle and clever way. Thanks, Beatrice!
