Tantalus and the Gods
Tantalus abuses his privileged relationship with the gods and becomes one of the most famous punished figures of Greek mythology.
The Story
Tantalus belonged to the generation before Pelops and the later House of Atreus.
He was remembered as a king who enjoyed an unusually close relationship with the gods.
But Tantalus violated that relationship.
Ancient traditions give several explanations for his offence.
Some describe him stealing divine food or revealing secrets of the gods.
The darkest tradition tells how Tantalus killed his son Pelops and served the child's flesh at a banquet in order to test whether the gods would recognise what had happened.
The gods were not deceived.
Pelops was restored.
Tantalus was punished.
In the Underworld he became associated with an impossible hunger and thirst.
Water withdrew when he tried to drink.
Fruit remained just beyond his reach.
His name became so closely associated with frustrated desire that the later word 'tantalise' ultimately derives from him.
Tantalus also stands at the beginning of the family line that leads to Pelops, Atreus, Agamemnon and Orestes.
Key Figures
Why It Matters
Tantalus provides the earliest major generation in the family tradition that eventually becomes the House of Atreus.
Traditions & Variations
Ancient authors offer several different crimes to explain Tantalus' punishment. The banquet involving Pelops became especially influential in later tradition.