\cf4 \ATXht11408 Niobe\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 , queen of Thebes, was proud of many things, but if she boasted of one it wa
s not her ancestry or her lineage, but the fact of being the mother of many children. She would have been the happiest woman in the world if she had concealed her pride and curbed her tongue. But when the priestess\cf0 \b \cf4 \ATXht11302 Manto\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 invited the women of Thebes to offer prayers and incense to\cf0 \b \cf4 \ATXht11209 Leto\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 \cf7 and her divine twins, Niobe recalled her father and grandfather and, above all, compared her host of children to the mere two that Leto
had brought into the world. Leto, who had to endure the persecution of\cf0 \b \cf4 \ATXht3 Hera\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 \cf7 and the affronts of\cf0 \b \cf4 \ATXht12015 Tityus\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 , could not bear another insult: she turned to her children and de
manded vengeance.\cf0 \b \cf4 \ATXht9 Apollo\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 and\cf0 \b \cf4 \ATXht13 Artemis\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 flew swiftly to Thebes and, while the goddess headed for the palace that had once belonged to\cf0 \b \cf4 \ATXht10301 Cadmus\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 , the god climbed\cf0 \b \cf4 \ATXht10325 Mount Cithaeron\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 where Niobe's six sons were out hunting. But, that day it was their destiny to be the prey, and Apollo slew them one by one with his silver bow. Artemis did the same to the six d
aughters in the women's quarters of the palace. When she heard of the death of all her children, Niobe stiffened with grief and turned into a rock.
