TANTALUS • E-FREE TRANSLATION.COM • Definition of Tantalus

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/tˈæntələs/ Listen

Tantalus

noun

(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.

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Etymology of 'Tantalus'

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"Tantalus" Quotes from Famous Books

... a whisky decanter, taken from the tantalus-stand on the sideboard, and one glass. That, by the by," I added, "looked as though only one ...

— Martin Hewitt, Investigator • Arthur Morrison

... when a man casteth his eyes on the vain and soone fading beauty of the world, consenting thereto in his minde, hee seemeth to bee turned into a brute beast, and so to be slain by the inordinate desire of his owne affects. By Tantalus that stands in the midst of the floud Eridan, having before him a tree laden with pleasant apples, he being neverthelesse always thirsty and hungry, betokeneth the insatiable desires of covetous persons. The fables of Atreus, Thiestes, Tereus ...

— The Golden Asse • Lucius Apuleius

... fact is that it was for passionate admirers the torment of Tantalus to see Chopin going about a whole evening in a salon and not to hear him. The mistress of the house took pity on us; she was indiscreet, and Chopin played, sang his most delicious songs; we set to these joyous or sad ...

— Frederick Chopin as a Man and Musician - Volume 1-2, Complete • Frederick Niecks

... also mentioned by Homer and Herodotus. Ulysses saw in the glorious garden of Alcinous "pears and pomegranates and apple-trees bearing beautiful fruit." And according to Homer, apples were among the fruits which Tantalus could not pluck, the wind ever blowing their boughs away from him. Theophrastus knew and described ...

— Wild Apples • Henry David Thoreau

Words linked to "Tantalus" : tantalise, tantalize, mythical being, Greek mythology