Tantalus

Tantalus (Τάνταλος) was the king of Sipylus, in Lydia. Tantalus was the son of Zeus and Pluto, daughter of Cronus. Tantalus was married to the Oceanid Dione, and was the father of Pelops and a daughter, Niobe.

The gods would often invite him to dine with them, or he would host the gods. He was one of the few mortals honoured by the gods, but he foolishly and cruelly wanted to test their omniscience.

During the feast he gave to the gods, he killed his son Pelops and served the flesh of his son to the gods. All but Demeter recognised human flesh and was repulsed by the horrid crime.

According to the Boeotian poet Pindar, he wrote that his crime was not only those mentioned above, but also that Tantalus had abused his privileges by trying to share ambrosia and nectar, the food and drink of the gods, with his companions.

Zeus sent his son immediately to Tartarus. His punishment was that a great rock hung over his son's head, while he would suffer from great pangs of eternal hunger and thirst but could never satisfy them. Tantalus was forced to stand in a pool of water that would drain away when he bent down for a drink, and then refill itself with water to his chin when stood up straight. Also, a single branch of figs would hang above his head, but a wind from nowhere would blow away the fruit, always just out of his reach.

Pelops was restored to his life and lived as king in Pisa, but his life was hardly innocent when he had committed murder, forever fearing the curse for the murder he had done. Pelops, however, managed to escape the curse that would rip apart the family of his sons and descendants. (See Pelops for his tale.)

His daughter Niobe brought about the destruction of her family and her own downfall when she let her good fortune and foolish pride get the better of her, when she made a boast and challenged the gods. (See the Wrath of Heaven, for Niobe's folly.)