Niobe

American  

[nahy-oh-bee] / ˈnaɪ oʊˌbi /

noun

Classical Mythology.

1. the daughter of Tantalus and wife of Amphion of Thebes. She provoked Apollo and Artemis to vengeance by taunting their mother, Leto, with the number and beauty of her own children; Niobe's children were slain and Zeus turned her into stone, in which state she continued to weep over her loss.

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Niobe British  

/ ˈnaɪəbɪ, naɪˈəʊbɪən /

noun

1. Greek myth a daughter of Tantalus, whose children were slain after she boasted of them: although turned into stone, she continued to weep

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Other Word Forms

• Niobean adjective

Example Sentences

Niobe Way, a professor of developmental psychology, often explains that American society has “privileged the hard over the soft,” referring to hard and soft characteristics of humanity.

From Salon • Aug. 10, 2024

A key resource in expanding “Close” beyond Dhont’s own experiences was psychologist Niobe Way’s 2013 book “Deep Secrets: Boys’ Friendships and the Crisis of Connection.”

From Seattle Times • Feb. 3, 2023

In just one speech Hamlet compares his father to the titan Hyperion, his uncle to a satyr and his mother to weeping Niobe, while contrasting his waffling, contemplative self with the forceful Hercules.

From Washington Post • May 22, 2019

Another researcher, Niobe Way, studied boys who, in early high school, were willing to call other boys their best friends and say that they love them—to depend on them utterly.

From Slate • May 7, 2019

There he and Niobe ruled in entire content until she showed that the mad arrogance of Tantalus lived on in her.

From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton