The Myth of Niobe

This story is connected to the myth of Leto. Niobe in Greek Mythology was the daughter of Tantalus and Dione or Euryanassa. She was married to Amphion and had fourteen children in total, seven boys and seven girls. She boasted about the fact that she was blessed with so many children and made fun of Leto that she only had two, Apollo and Artemis. For her hubris, Leto punished Niobe by sending Apollo to kill with his arrows all of Niobe’s boys and Artemis to kill all of her girls. Upon seeing her dead children, Niobe, in despair, fled to Mount Sipylus where she turned into a rock. The rock became known as the ‘Weeping Rock’.

The Weeping Rock resembles truly a woman figure and can still be visited in today’s Turkey.