Tantalus | |
---|---|
Mythological King | |
![]() Tantalus by Gioacchino Assereto | |
Other names | Atys |
Abode | Lydia or Phrygia or Paphlagonia |
Genealogy | |
Parents | (1) Zeus and Pluto (2) Tmolus and Pluto |
Siblings | - |
Consort | (i) Dione (ii) Taygete (iii) Eurythemista (iv) Euryanassa (v) Clytie (vi) Eupryto |
Children | Pelops, Niobe, Broteas and Dascylus |
Part of a series on the |
Greek underworld |
---|
Residents |
Geography |
Prisoners |
Visitors |
Tantalus (Ancient Greek: Τάνταλος Tántalos), also called Atys, was a Greek mythological figure, most famous for his punishment in Tartarus: for trying to trick the gods into eating his son, he was made to stand in a pool of water beneath a fruit tree with low branches, with the fruit ever eluding his grasp, and the water always receding before he could take a drink.
Tantalus was the father of Pelops, Niobe, and Broteas. He was a son of Zeus[1] and a woman named Pluto. Thus, like other heroes in Greek mythology such as Theseus (his great-great-grandson) and the Dioskouroi, he had one divine and one mortal parent.
The Greeks used the proverb "Tantalean punishment" (Ancient Greek: Ταντάλειοι τιμωρίαι: Tantáleioi timōríai) in reference to those who have good things but are not permitted to enjoy them.[2] His name and punishment are also the source of the English word tantalize, meaning to torment with the sight of something desired but out of reach; tease by arousing expectations that are repeatedly disappointed.[3]
© MMXXIII Rich X Search. We shall prevail. All rights reserved. Rich X Search