20 NIOBE from 19


ue was taken from a statue of Niobe at the Uffizi Gal- lery in Florence, Italy. The Uffizi’s statue is a Hellenist work discovered during the Renaissance, and is itself a copy of a much admired 5th century, B.C. original that was lost in antiquity. Geiss’ Niobe was adver-


tised for sale at the London Industrial Exposition in 1862 (together with zinc statues of the twin Greek dieties, Diana and Apollo, who were protagonists in the Greek myth of Niobe). An anonymous purchaser, believed to be Isaac Adams, bought all three statues. Adams was known to be travelling in Europe at the time and was anecdotally reported to have bought his statuary there. In Greek legend, Ni- obe was the daughter of


THE WEIRS TIMES & THE COCHECO TIMES, Thursday, May 17, 2012


ordinately proud. Her pride caused her downfall. Niobe was punished by


Issac Adams


wealthy King Tantalus. Ni- obe married Amphion, and they were the first king and queen of the city of Thebes in central Greece. Niobe had fourteen children, sev- en sons and seven daugh- ters, of whom she was in-


We’re Your Comfort Zone


Combination AC & Heat Pump models Replace your window A/C or just beat the summer humidity with


a more efficient & quieter system. The A/C-Heat Pump Model can significantly reduce heating costs. Visit our website or come by our store to see the systems we have in operation.


With “High Efficiency” Mitsubishi Ductless AC or


The statue of Niobe atop the Great Wall before it toppled in 1941.


170 DW Hwy., Belmont, NH ¼ mile south of the Belknap Mall next to Taylor Rental


603-524-2308 800-924-6568


hepsales@metrocast.net www.HomeEnergyProducts.net Ma r i n e Co n s t r u c t i o n WATERMARK


Whatever floats your boat... VISIT OUR RETAIL STORES FOR ALL YOUR WATERFRONT NEEDS


DESIG N PERMI T CONSTRUCT


Dock repairs & construction, ice damage, breakwaters, boathouses, island construction, beaches, dredging, retaining walls, boatlifts, moorings, and much more...


www.docksource.com


Gilford 603-293-4000 2 9 Gilfor d Eas t Driv e acros s fro m Laconi a Airport


Sunapee 603-763-6440 55 2 Rout e 1 1 Nea r Sunape e Harbor


Apollo and the moon god- dess Diana, rained down arrows, slaughtering all of Niobe’s children before her very eyes. Hearing Niobe’s wailing, Amphion rushed to the scene, and apprehend- ing that his wife had deeply offended divine authority, fell on his sword. The gods, however, were not satisfied that the complete destruc- tion of Niobe’s family was sufficient punishment for her sin. As an additional measure, they transformed Niobe into stone and com- manded that she weep perpetual tears. Isaac Adams left no


known record why he chose Niobe to overlook the Great Wall. We can only specu- late as to his reasons. One theory harkens back to an oft told story of his youth. Perhaps this was Ad-


ams’ way of likening him- self to the ancient Greek gods and saying to the citizens of Sandwich, “You were wrong to mock me as a ‘no account youth.’ In fact, you should look up to me with great deference because I have far more power and wealth than any of you could ever hope for.”


COURTESY PHOTO


Rather than punishing his neighbors by mowing them down with arrows, like Apollo and Diana in the myth, Adams merely bought and destroyed their homes, his symbolic equiv- alent. He may have placed the statues of Niobe, Apollo and Diana along the Great Wall, itself an emblem of his power and wealth, to constantly remind towns- folk of his message. Geiss’ Niobe is approxi-


mately one and a quarter life size. She originally stood on a 20-foot tall stone ped- estal at 24 Little Pond Road in Sandwich. From 1875 to 1941, the statue of Niobe was a popular tourist at- traction in Sandwich and a source of great civic pride. In honor of Niobe, the slope where the statue stood was named “Image Hill.” In 1941, the statue fell


over and was shattered into almost 200 pieces, some as large as a person, others as small as a thumbnail. The statue’s faulty original installation caused this disaster. The statue had been sleeved over a wooden block, which was bolted to See NIOBE on 22


the gods for her hubris, which she disastrously dis- played on the feast day of the goddess Leto. Specifi- cally, Niobe mocked Leto and refused to participate in the religious ceremo- nies honoring the goddess. Niobe justified her haugh- tiness because the god- dess was neither richer nor more powerful than she (or so Niobe thought). After all, Niobe was the heir of rich King Tantalus and was a queen. Furthermore, Niobe claimed to be seven times more blessed than Leto because Niobe had four- teen children compared to Leto’s two. Leto found Niobe’s behav-


ior intolerable. To avenge their mother’s honor, Leto’s twin children, the sun god


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32