A ROMAN MARBLE HEAD OF NIOBE

Niobe, the daughter of Tantalus and Dione and the wife of Amphion of Thebes, bragged in maternal pride that she had six sons and six daughters, compared to Leto, who was only mother to Artemis and Apollo. In retaliation for her hubris, Leto sent Apollo and Artemis to slay all of Niobe’s children, after which they remained unburied for nine days while their mother abstained from food in a state of unbridled grief. Niobe later returned to her homeland, Mount Sipylus, where she would pray for Zeus to end her suffering. In response, Zeus transformed Niobe into a rock that wept for eternity. For a similar portrayal of Niobe in the Nieborów Palace, see p. 337 in W. Geominy, Die Florentiner Niobiden.