Amphion and Zethus

So no mortal ever presumed to say that he could make rocks and stones obedient to the spell of his music.

There was, however, one musician, Amphion, king of Thebes, who was anxious to prove that his playing was equal to Apollo's, but knowing how unwise it was to vie with an immortal, he determined not to test his skill publicly, but to carry out his cherished plan at night when men were dreaming in their beds.

He was eager to build a high wall around Thebes, and to build it as Apollo did the wall of Troy.

So when the sun set and darkness crept over the earth, Amphion stood just outside the city gates and began to play on his lyre.

Immediately the stones rose from the ground and moved rhythmically into their places in the wall, which soon rose strong and high, a firmer defense than any that could be built by men's hands.

Another famous musician was Arion, who won not only praise for his great skill in playing, but also much wealth.

Pygmalion the Sculptor by Robert Buchanan.

Appendix twenty-six.

In eager haste the shivering spirits seek the hiding-places of the leafy grove.

From out the cave, his right hand by the horns a raging bull restraining, Zethus came; and next Amphion, with that famous shell whose magic strains insensate rocks allured.

Here naughty Niobe, in safety now, amongst her children lifts her head in scorn and proudly counts her shades.

And, worse than she, that mother, mad Argive, next appears, with all the impious band who rent the king.

Antiope was the daughter of the king of Thebes.

By Zeus, she became the mother of two sons, Amphion and Zethus.

Immediately after their birth, the babies were taken from her and exposed on Mount Cithaeron.

Antiope was the daughter of the king of Thebes.

By Zeus, she became the mother of two sons, Amphion and Zethus.

Immediately after their birth, the babies were taken from her and exposed on Mount Cithaeron, where they grew up among the shepherds.

Antiope fell into the power of her uncle, Lycus, whose wife, Dirce, treated her with the greatest cruelty.

After some years, she made her escape and fled to Mount Cithaeron, where she happened to take refuge in the hut where her sons lived.