Tantalus was at one time honored by the Greek gods more tan any other of the mortal children of zeus
the gods even agreed to come to a feast at his home.
But tantalus perhaps to show how easy it was to deceive them served a most appalling meal
He had his only son Pelops killed boiled in a large cauldron and served to the gods for dinner
But the gods knew immediately what the banquet was and decided to punish Tantalus
They put him in the midst of a lake in Hades
The waters reached his chin but whenever he bent down to drink the water disappeared draining into the ground
As he stood up the water appeared again
In addition fruit trees laden with pears pomegranates rosy apples and sweet figs hung over the lake
Whenever Tantalus reached out to take one the wind would toss the fruit out of his reach
Tantalus was forever thirsty and hungry in the midst of plenty
Our word tantalize which means tease or torment has its origin in this myth
And a tantalus is a piece of furniture used for holding decanters for wine-visible but out of reach
If you’re wondering about Pelops: the gods restored him to life,but they nad to give him a new shoulder out of ivory
One of the goddesses had made the mistake of tasting the terrible dish and when Prlops was brought back to life one shoulder was missing
In any case Pelops nad a happy and successful life after that