Apollo and Diana Attacking the Children of Niobe is a 1772 painting by French Neoclassical artist Jacques Louis David. This work is located in the Dallas Museum of Art in Dallas, Texas.
The myth of Apollo and Diana attacking the children of Niobe is a dramatic tale from Greek mythology that underscores themes of hubris, divine retribution, and familial loss.
Niobe, the queen of Thebes and wife of Amphion, boasted of her superiority to the goddess Leto because she had fourteen children (seven sons and seven daughters), whereas Leto had only two. Niobe’s prideful claim was perceived as an affront to Leto, who was revered as the mother of the twin deities Apollo and Diana (Artemis).
In response to Niobe’s arrogance, Leto sent her children to punish the queen. Apollo and Diana were tasked with exacting vengeance. Apollo, the god of prophecy and music, and Diana, the goddess of the hunt, took on their roles with devastating precision. Apollo targeted Niobe’s seven sons, killing them all with his arrows, while Diana focused on the seven daughters, also shooting them down.
The loss of her children drove Niobe to despair. According to the myth, she fled to Mount Sipylus, where, in her grief, she was transformed into a stone. Even in her stone form, the myth suggests, Niobe continued to weep for her lost children, embodying eternal sorrow.