Niobe
Essay Preview: Niobe
Report this essay
Niobe
As a preface for the tragedy, the crime committed by Tantalus should be staged first. The killing of Pelops by Tantalus, his father, serving him to the gods will be the beginning of Niobes tragedy. After these events, Niobe becomes unusually fixated with being a mother. After having 12 children, seven daughters and 7 sons, she swears to the gods that shell never hurt her children as her father attempted with his own; and that she wants to dedicate her life to become the best mother to exist ever. Niobe is having a recurrent dream with a spider, which is in fact weaving a net around her; she goes to the Oracle to find out the significance of the dream. As a response, the Oracle tells her that the spider represents her obsession with her children, whom are not part of the gods realm and hence should be subjects of adoration. The spider really represents Arachnae and her fate after challenging Athena. Niobe doesnt understand the Oracle and feels that even the gods are jealous of her fortune. During a celebration in Letos honor, she claimed that she deserved more worship than Leto as she was the daughter of a god, a queen as had seven times more offspring than Leto. She even dismissed the celebration; the worshippers leave.
After this, which could be the beginning of act 2; Leto gets angry due to Niobes actions and tells her children how this could mean that no disciple would want to worship her. Apollo and Artemis take care of the issue shooting all of Niobes children. Amphion, Niobes husband commits suicide leaving Niobe all alone. After this she is changed into stone, and flew, carried by a gust of wind; to her home in Lydia where she was stuck onto the peak of a mountain and is still there weeping.
List of Character that would take place:
Niobe
Leto