Tantalus
In Greek mythology, a king of Lydia, son of Zeus, and father of Pelops and Niobe. He offended the gods by divulging their secrets and serving them human flesh at a banquet. His crimes were punished in Tartarus (a part of the underworld for the wicked) by the provision of food and drink he could not reach. The word ‘tantalize’ derives from his torment.
| Afflicted with raging thirst and hunger, he stood in a lake which ebbed away when he stooped to drink, while above his head hung fruits which swung away when he tried to grasp them. In his dramatization Orestes, Euripedes substituted the fruits for a rock which was ever ready to fall and crush him. |
| His name has been given to the tantalus, a lockable container for wine bottles, which leaves the drink visible but unobtainable. |
