Niŏbe

, a daughter of Tantalus king of Lydia by Euryana a or Dione. She married Amphion the son of Jasus, by whom she had 10 sons and 10 daughters according to Hesiod, or two sons and three daughters according to Hero dot us. Homer and Pro pert i us say that she had six daughters and as many sons, and Ovid, Apollo dor us, . , according to the more received opinion, support that she had seven sons and seven daughters. The names of the sons were Sipylus, Minytus, Tantalus, Agenor, Phædim us, Dam a sicht hon, and Is menus; and those of the daughters, Cleodoxa, Ethodæa or Thera, Astyoche, Phthia, Pelopia or Chloris, As tic rate a, and Ogygia. The number of her children increased the pride of Niobe, and she not only had the imprudence to prefer herself to Latona, who had only two children, but she even insulted her, and ridiculed the worship which was paid to her, observing that she had a better claim to altars and sacrifices than the mother of Apollo and Diana. This insolence provoked Latona, who entreated her children to punish the arrogant Niobe. Her prayers were heard, and immediately all the sons of Niobe expired by the darts of Apollo, and all the daughters except Chloris, who had married Neleus king of Polos, were equally destroyed by Diana; and Niobe, struck at the suddenne of her misfortunes, was changed into a stone. The carcases of Niobe’s children, according to Homer, were left unburied in the plains for nine succe ive days, because Jupiter changed into stones all such as attempted to inter them. On the tenth day they were honoured with a funeral by the gods. Homer , Iliad , bk. 24 .— Ælian , Varia Hist or i a , bk. 12 , ch. 36 .— Apollo dor us , bk. 3 , ch. 5 .— Ovid , Metamorphoses , fable 5.— Hyginus , fable 9.— Horace , bk. 4 , ode 6.— Pro pert i us , bk. 2 , poem 6.――A daughter of Phoroneus king of Peloponnesus by Laodice. She was beloved by Jupiter, by whom she had a son called Argus, who gave his name to Argia or Argolis, a country of Peloponnesus. Pausanias , bk. 2 , ch. 22 .— Apollo dor us , bk. 2 , ch. 1 ; bk. 3 , ch. 8 .