See U in History
Tantalus Punishment
Tantalus is the son of Zeus with Princess Plouto.
Due to his noble lineage, he enjoyed
privileges among the Gods,
including the possibility to share the same table of the gods during the banquets at the Olympus.
From his privileged position, he could hear the gods’ conversations and gossip.
Tantalus, despite being welcomed with full-fledged hospitality by the other deities in his visits to the Olympus,
was sometimes disrespectful to his hosts.
After returning from the Olympus, he spread the secrets of the gods, which he had heard during the banquets.
In another occasion, he stole a bit of nectar and ambrosia from the table of the gods.
These were foods that conceded immortality and so they were confined to the gods.
These were foods that conceded immortality and so they were confined to the gods.
However, since they enjoyed his presence, they ignored the situation and did not punish him.
Tantalus was king of Lidia and wanted to repay the gods’ hospitality by offering them a feast in his palace.
Zeus, Hermes and Demeter accepted the invitation and confirmed their presence.
The King readied the feast’s preparations.
He wanted the event to be perfect in order to be bestowed with even more benefits from the gods.
He called his son Pelops and said:
- My son, today you will have the honor to share the table with no one else but the gods of the Olympus.
- Thank you my beloved father, at last I will have the privilege, as you do,
to be at the table in the presence of my glorious grandfather.
The young Pelops, amazed, went to his room to ready himself for the banquet.
Tantalus called the cook and said:
- Today you will prepare the most splendorous meal of all meals.
The king whispered something in the cook’s ear, who could not conceal his concern.
The gods arrived at the palace and were promptly greeted with total reverence.
The banquet started and the attendees talked about the most different matters.
Then Zeus asked:
- Where is my grandson, you said he would join us.
- Don"t worry, he is preparing a surprise for you, sir.
It was time for the main dish, the chef brought a beautiful stew with an unmatched flavor.
The Goddess Demeter, who was plunged into deep sadness due to the departure of her daughter Persephone
to the kingdom of Hades, decided to devour the stew to curb her sadness a little bit.
Tantalus served the stew to Zeus and Hermes.
Both exchanged glances with a suspicious look.
- Didn’t you enjoy my offering to the gods?
- You degenerate creature! How dare you serve human flesh to the gods?
- This is not simply a human sacrifice, my father, it is the greatest of the burnt offerings.
I’m giving you the flesh of my firstborn son.
Demeter, who had already eaten a big piece of meat, started to feel nauseated.
- We have been complacent with your crimes in the past,
but what you have done now
deserves to be punished in an exemplary way.
Tantalus was sent to the Tartarus, where he would suffer a terrible punishment.
He was placed in a lake surrounded by fruitful trees.
The water reached his chin and he could grab the fruit with his hand.
However Tantalum was constantly enduring a terrible hunger and thirst.
When he dropped down to drink the water, the level of the lake dropped as well, preventing him from drinking it.
When the hunger kicked in, he tried to reach the fruit
that was hanging over his head.
But the wind pushed the fruitful branches away from his reach.
Tantalum was doomed to suffer this punishment for all eternity,
and his lineage would have to pay for the crime of his patriarch with a terrible curse.
The Gods decided to bring the innocent Pelops back to life,
they rebuilt him and now he was even more beautiful than before.
However, he did not have one his shoulders, which had been devoured by the goddess Demeter.
Zeus asked Hephaestus to craft an ivory shoulder for his grandson.
Alive again, Pelops would then become the king of the Peloponnese.
Whereas his father would have to endure the eternal punishment at the Tartarus.
Having the objects of his desire so close and at the same time so far.
