Plot Summary: NIobe
Niobe was the wife of Amphion, king of Thebes. Niobe and Amphion gave birth to fourteen children, seven sons and seven daughters. Niobe was affected by hubris. She said that she was better than the goddess Leto because she only had two children, the twins Artemis and Apollo. When Leto came to know of this she sent her two children, who were very skilled archers, to kill the children of Niobe. Apollo killed her seven sons and Artemis killed her daughters. Niobe's husband was distraught when he heard of his children's deaths, and killed himself. Niobe cried without end and finally pleaded with Zeus to end her suffering. He took pity on her and turned her into a rock. The moral of this story is to never think that you are better than the gods.