Tantalos - Tantalos (English spelling)

A wealthy king in Greek mythology. The son of Zeus, he was loved by the gods and invited to their table, but he was cast into the bottomless abyss of Tartarus because he revealed the secret of this encounter to humans, or because he gave the gods' food, nectar and ambrosia, to humans. He was submerged up to his neck in a pool, and whenever he tried to drink water, the water disappeared. When he tried to reach the fruit-bearing branch above his head, the branch moved away, and he suffered from eternal hunger and thirst. To test the intelligence of the gods, Tantalus killed his son Pelops, cooked it, and offered it to the gods. He is also said to have a huge stone hanging above his head and to be living in eternal fear. Tantalus' descendants from Pelops to Agamemnon were called the Tantalidae.

[Teruo Ito]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

ギリシア神話の富裕な王。ゼウスの子で、神々に愛され、その食卓に招かれたが、このときの秘密を人間に漏らした、あるいは神々の飲食物ネクタルとアンブロシアを人間に与えたために、底なしの奈落(ならく)タルタロスへ落とされた。彼は池中に首までつかり、水を飲もうとすれば水がなくなり、頭上の果実の実った枝を手でとろうとすれば枝が遠ざかり、永遠の飢えと渇きに苦しんでいるという。また、神々の知力を試すために、タンタロスは子のペロプスを殺して料理し、神々に供したという。頭上に巨石がつるされ、永遠の恐怖におののいているともいわれる。ペロプスからアガメムノンに至るタンタロスの子孫がタンタリダイTantalidaiとよばれていた。

［伊藤照夫］

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