Tantalus

Tantalus took a wife whose name is variously given as Dione, Euryanassa, Clytia, or Eupryto. He fathered Pelops, Niobe, and Broteas. Tantalus ruled Lydia in Asia Minor and was associated with Sipylus. He was said to be the son of Zeus and Hades, the daughter of Cronos. Another account made him the son of Tmolos.

Tantalus invited the gods to dine at his palace. In one account, he had shared their nectar and ambrosia with mortal companions. In another, he tested their wisdom by killing Pelops, cooking him in a stew, and serving him at the meal. The gods recognised what had happened. Demeter, grieving over the loss of Persephone, ate part of Pelops, while the other gods refused the dish. Zeus then reassembled Pelops and restored him to life. His missing shoulder was replaced with one of ivory, made by Hephaestus.

For this offence, Tantalus was banished to the Underworld and condemned to hunger and thirst. He stood in water, but it withdrew whenever he bent down to drink. Fruit hung from branches near him, but the branches moved away whenever he reached for it. Some accounts also place a boulder above his head, always threatening to fall. Pelops survived and later became a tragic figure in his own right.

Niobe became the wife of Amphion, king of Thebes, who ruled with his brother Zethus. She had many children. Homer gives their number as twelve, while Ovid gives fourteen, divided equally between sons and daughters. Proud of her family, Niobe claimed that she deserved greater worship than Leto, who had only Artemis and Apollo. Leto called on her children, and they killed Niobe's children. Amphion took his own life from grief. Niobe was turned to stone and became a perpetually weeping rock on Mount Sipylus in Lydia.

Tantalus stooped towards the water and tried to drink. It reached his chin, yet each time he bent down, the water vanished and the ground around his feet became dry. Above him, branches carried pears, berries, apples, figs and olives. When he reached for the fruit, a wind drove it away towards the clouds. In some accounts, a stone also threatens him as part of his punishment. He remains in Tartarus, suffering thirst and hunger without relief.

Tantalus had been a wealthy king of Lydia and a son of Zeus. Some accounts name Hades, daughter of Cronos, as his mother. Others make him the son of Tmolos. The gods honoured him above the other mortal children of Zeus. They allowed him to sit at their table and taste nectar and ambrosia, which were otherwise reserved for the immortals. They also came to a banquet at his palace and dined with him.

Tantalus then committed an offence against them. He killed his only son, Pelops, boiled him in a cauldron, and served him to the gods. The reason for this act is not explained. The gods recognised what the dish contained. They rose in anger, seized Tantalus and shackled him. Death was judged too mild a punishment, so they cast him into the dark depths of the Underworld, or into Tartarus.

The punishment is described differently in the sources. The Odyssey gives the water and fruit, but does not mention a stone. Another tradition connects a stone with Tantalus, and an ancient reference is said to have known of it. The fruit also varies between accounts. The Odyssey names pears, berries, apples, figs and olives, while another account names pears, pomegranates, apples, figs and olives.

Tantalus quarrelled with Ilus, king of Troy. The quarrel ended Tantalus’s rule. He was driven from his Anatolian kingdom, and his authority collapsed. The account does not preserve the cause of the dispute or describe the action that led Ilus to expel him.

Tantalus was a Lydian king associated with Sipylus in Lydia. He was also reputedly a son of Zeus and had enjoyed the favour of the gods. His expulsion was sometimes connected with impiety, linking the fall of his rule with the offences later said to have brought him punishment in the Underworld.

One account states that Tantalus invited the gods to a feast at his palace. Either because his stores were empty or because he wished to test their powers, he cut up his son Pelops, cooked him in a stew, and served him as food. The gods recognised what had happened, except Demeter, who ate Pelops’s shoulder. Tantalus was banished and condemned to perpetual hunger and thirst. In the Underworld, he stood in water that receded whenever he bent to drink. Fruit hung above him, but the branches moved away whenever he reached for them. Pelops was restored, with an ivory shoulder made by Hephaestus. This account presents Tantalus’s banishment as a punishment for his impiety, while the account of his quarrel with Ilus concerns his removal from his earthly kingdom.