According to Grecian fable
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
Niobe, the daugh- ter of Tantalus and wife of Amphion, King of Thebes, was the mother of twelve children, and taunted Latona because she had only two —
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “According to Grecian fable” mean?
Niobe, the daugh- ter of Tantalus and wife of Amphion, King of Thebes, was the mother of twelve children, and taunted Latona because she had only two —
Is “According to Grecian fable” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.