"The Niobe of nations! There she stands,
Childless and crownless in her voiceless woe;
An empty urn within her withered hands,
Whose holy dust was scattered long ago;
The Scipios' tomb contains no ashes now;
The very sepulchres lie tenantless
Of their heroic dwellers; dost thou flow,
Old Tiber! Through a marble wilderness?
Rise with thy yellow waves, and mantle her distress."

-Byron, Childe Harold, IV.79

The legend of Niobe appears in the Iliad of Homer.   Niobe is described as a woman who compares herself to a goddess.   She boasts to her friends that she herself has given birth to twelve children, while the goddess Leto only bore two.

The goddess Leto is, understandably, offended by Niobe's bragging.   So Leto sends her two children - Apollo and Artemis - to punish the woman.   Niobe was devastated when her children were killed.   She wept for days on end, and finally was transformed into a stone that stands on Mt. Sipylon.

So far, I have found respresentations of Niobe in three cemeteries.   Still, "Gray" is my favorite.

My association with Oakland Cemetery increased as the photography contests continued.   I spent many weekends there with my camera, as well as some evenings.   Usually by myself, on occasion, a friend or two.   Several of my photos were published in Tevi Taliaferro's book about the history and symbolism in Oakland Cemetery, Images Of America - Historic Oakland Cemetery.