Definition

1. Proper noun:
   • A figure from Greek mythology: Niobe is the daughter of Tantalus. She was transformed into a weeping stone after her excessive pride in her children led to their deaths at the hands of the gods Apollo and Artemis.

Usage Examples

• Proper noun:
  • The myth of Niobe serves as a warning against hubris.
  • In the sculpture, Niobe is depicted weeping for her lost children.

Advanced Usage

• "a Niobe": (literary) used to refer to a woman who is grieving inconsolably.
  • After the tragedy, she became a Niobe, her sorrow seemingly endless.

Variants and Related Words

• Niobean (adj): pertaining to or resembling Niobe, especially in her profound grief.
  • The poem's Niobean tone captured the depth of the mother's mourning.

Synonyms

• Mourner: one who grieves.
• Weeping woman: (figurative) a woman who is crying or in deep sorrow.

Related Idioms

• Like Niobe, all tears: (literary) to be in a state of profound and unceasing grief.
  • She stood by the grave, like Niobe, all tears.

Noun

1. (Greek mythology) the daughter of Tantalus whose boasting about her children provoked Apollo and Artemis to slay them all; Niobe was turned to stone while bewailing her loss