What is the story of Tantalus?
What is the story of Tantalus?
Tantalus is a figure from Greek mythology who was the rich but wicked king of Sipylus. For attempting to serve his own son at a feast with the gods, he was punished by Zeus to forever go thirsty and hungry in Hades despite being stood in a pool of water and almost within reach of a fruit tree.
What did Tantalus do to the gods?
(2) He offended the gods by killing his son Pelops and serving him to them in order to test their power of observation. (3) He stole nectar and ambrosia, the food of the gods, from heaven and gave them to mortals, according to Pindar’s first Olympian ode.
What does Tantalus symbolize?
Tantalus was a Greek mythological figure, most famous for his eternal punishment in Tartarus. Thus, like other heroes in Greek mythology such as Theseus and the Dioskouroi, Tantalus had both a hidden, divine parent and a mortal one.
Who killed Tantalus?
Broteas, was one of the two sons of Tantalus. Broteas insulted Artemis refusing to honor her. The goddess decided to punish him and drove him mad. Broteas was fool enough to think that he was invulnerable so he threw himself into the fire thinking that the flames would not burn him, so he died.
Who is the wife of Tantalus?
The identity of his wife is variously given: generally as Dione the daughter of Atlas; the Pleiad Taygete, daughter of Atlas; Eurythemista, a daughter of the river-god Xanthus; Euryanassa, daughter of Pactolus, another river-god of Anatolia, like the Xanthus; Clytia, the child of Amphidamantes; and Eupryto.
What did Tantalus do and what was his punishment?
Tantalus’s punishment for his act, now a proverbial term for temptation without satisfaction (the source of the English word tantalise), was to stand in a pool of water beneath a fruit tree with low branches. Whenever he reached for the fruit, the branches raised his intended meal from his grasp.
How did Pindar say Tantalus was punished?
55. Motifs in the Odes of Pindar (Lawrence [Kansas] 1967) 74. There were in antiquity three traditions concerning the punishment of Tantalus. The first is that of Odyssey 11.582-92, where Tantalus is located in Hades’ realm among the great sinners, tortured with unful- filled hunger and thirst.
Who is Tantalus son?
Pelops
Most famously, Tantalus offered up his son, Pelops, as a sacrifice.
Who is Tantalus in Greek mythology?
Tantalus, Greek Tantalos, in Greek legend, son of Zeus or Tmolus (a ruler of Lydia) and the nymph or Titaness Pluto (Plouto) and the father of Niobe and Pelops. He was the king of Sipylus in Lydia (or of Phrygia) and was the intimate friend of the gods, to whose table he was admitted.
What was the punishment of Tantalus?
He was the king of Sipylus in Lydia (or of Phrygia) and was the intimate friend of the gods, to whose table he was admitted. The punishment of Tantalus in the underworld was occasioned by one of several crimes, according to various ancient authors: (1) He abused divine favour by revealing to mortals the secrets he had learned in heaven.
What are the archaeological features associated with Tantalus’s house?
Near Mount Sipylus are archaeological features that have been associated with Tantalus and his house since Antiquity.
How did Tantalus kill his son Pelops?
Tantalus murders his own son (Pelops), dices him up and cooks him into a stew. He then tries to serve this horrifying concoction to the gods. All of the gods realize the trick and do not eat, except for one. The goddess Demeter is extremely distraught because her daughter has been abducted by Hades.
