Downfall In Ovid's Metamorphoses

For this particular reflection, I wanted discuss one of this current week’s assignment involving the story of Níobe. This story in Ovid’s, Metamorphoses, captures imagination and thoroughly shows how the arrogance of a mortal to an immortal will lead to their downfall. The Gods show mortals that their divinity must be respected and acknowledge. The refusal to acclaim them can end up in being made an example. I thoroughly enjoyed how Ovid positioned the story to where a mortal queen, Níobe, thought of herself as being superior to Latón, a goddess and mother of Zeus’s children. With the story of Arachne being mentioned within the first couple of sentences, I knew the outcome would end up favoring the Gods. The point in the story where I became
Letóna found this very repulsive and even more disrespectful for a mortal to disregard an immortal. This part of story is when their mother summons my two new favorite deities, Diana and Apollo. This family theme resonates with me. If someone in my family was slandered and greatly disrespected, I would try to find a solution to their problem like Diana and Apollo. These deities knew that they were going to punish a mortal for not respecting and demeaning their immortal mother. The theme that “might is right” is common so far in these mythology stories. I enjoy the angle that Ovid takes that the gods are charge and the mortals should know it. Níobe does not know her place compared to deities. Apollo and Artemis team and punish a mother in the most atrocious way possible in killing all her children. My reaction to Apollo killing all the boys first is the he wanted to get rid of the lineage of her family starting with the males. I absolutely dumbfounded that Níobe was not willing to admit Latóna’s superiority and claimed she still had more children than her. Then it became a killing frenzy when Diana takes over by rapidly killing all the girls of Níobe. Both of the deities using their majestic bow and arrows were thrilling when Ovid was describing it. Then I thought about how the human trait of remorse finally sprouted from Níobe when all but one her children remain. The most hair-raising part of the story is that Níobe turned to stone yet her tears continuously trickle down her face. These reactions were all derived from this story of a mortal queen Nióbe’s disdain and the deities of Diana, Apollo, and Letóna making a example of an arrogant