The reception of niobe’s mythological exemplum from the hellenistic poetry to the imperial latin literature

Abstract

 The mythological story of Niobe is a constant motif in ancient literature since Homer included it in the Iliad. Thus, this first textual reference to Niobe has been reused, remodeled and even reinterpreted down through the ages until the imperial Latin literature. We do not only refer here to the tale, in terms of its form or content, but to the connection between the use and function of the episode itself. All this indicates the dynamism of texts, that is to say, that the texts themselves and their interpretation are not fixed, but they might change depending on the author᾽s literary need.