Definition of tantalus Tantalus

/tæˈntʌlʌs/ - [tantulus] - Tan•ta•lus

We found 8 definitions of tantalus from 5 different sources.

What does tantalus mean?

Noun
tantalus - (Greek mythology) a wicked king and son of Zeus; condemned in Hades to stand in water that receded when he tried to drink and beneath fruit that receded when he reached for it
		greek mythology the mythology of the ancient Greeks

= synonym
= antonym
= related word

tantalus (Noun)
A stork of the genus Mycteria formerly Tantalus, especially the American wood ibis , Mycteria americana .
tantalus (Noun)
A stand in which to lock up drink decanters while keeping them visible.
tantalus (Noun)
Something of an evasive or retreating nature, something consistently out of reach; a tantalising thing.

tantalus (n.)
A Phrygian king who was punished in the lower world by being placed in the midst of a lake whose waters reached to his chin but receded whenever he attempted to allay his thirst, while over his head hung branches laden with choice fruit which likewise receded whenever he stretched out his hand to grasp them.
tantalus (n.)
A genus of wading birds comprising the wood ibises.

tantalus
tan′ta-lus, n. the wood-ibis, a genus of birds of the stork family, quite distinct from the true ibises

Tantalus was a mortal king in Greek mythology. He did many bad things against the gods and goddesses. At a banquet, he tried to feed people the flesh of his son Pelops. He had asked the gods and goddesses to come to this banquet. When they learn what he had planned, they punished Tantalus in not only this world (the world of the living), but the next as well (the world of the dead). Tantalus's punishment while he was alive was the ruin of his kingdom. His punishment when dead in the Tartaros of the Underworld was much worse.

He was made to stand in a pool of water up to his chin for all time. During this, he would always be hungry and thirsty. Each time Tantalus lowered his head to drink the water he was standing in, the water would lower. Over his head hung branches of trees filled with fruit. When he would try to get them, wind would blow them out of his reach. He was "tantalized" with food and drink. This is where the word tantalize comes from.

His son, Pelops, was made alive again by the gods. He went to Greece and became the ruler of the peninsula which still has his name, the Peloponesus.