Epitaph XXVII. — On Niobe Buried on Mount Sipylus near a Fountain

A QUEEN of Thebes was I, who am now a crag of Sipylus for my offence against the godhead of Leto's offspring. Happy and proud to have borne twice seven children, I buried as many as I bare. Yet even this did not content the gods: hard stone encased me round until I lost all shape of human form. But though my vital parts are crusted o'er, grief clings to them and pours forth a perpetual stream of pitying tears. Ah, cruel deed! Do heavenly spirits hate so bitterly? A mother's grief lasts on, her shape passes away.