Tantalus (episode)

***Miscellaneous Myths: Tantalus*** is the name of the fiftieth episode of the *Miscellaneous Myths* series by Red, and it tells the story of Tantalus, a king who, while at first was favoured and beloved by the Greek pantheon, he incured the wrath of the gods. His crime that would get him in Tartarus varies according to version, but in no story does it end well for him, with Tantalus eventually becoming one of the most iconic residents of the Greek Underworld.

## Summary

Tantalus was a king and a demigod son of Zeus (which, as Red notes, isn't as rare or exciting as it sounds). Tantalus received the gods' favour and was beloved by all of them, until his crimes caused him to fall out of grace. One day, he invited the gods over for dinner, and for no reason given, he decided to kill, cook and serve them his own son Pelops. The gods saw through this and refused to consume the slain Pelops, except for Demeter who, still mourning the loss of her daughter, was too absent-minded to notice what was going on. This gross violation of laws against family-killing and cannibalism earned Tantalus a place in Tartarus; he was placed in a small pool, with a branch of fruit hanging above him. Every time he grew hungry, the branch would pull away, while whenever he got thirsty, the water would recede, leaving him in a state of perpetual thirst and hunger. Meanwhile the gods revived Pelops (and subdued his missing shoulder with a piece of ivory). Pelops would later go on to father the House of Atreus, a line of extremely unfortunate Greek kings, including Agamemnon, which, as Red hypothesizes, was only added to Tantalus' list of crimes.

Pindar, however, offered a very different versions of the events; according to him, Pelops wasn't killed that night. Instead, the god Poseidon fell madly in love with him and took him to Olympus. His absence caused people to suspect he had been killed, when in fact he was fine. Tantalus still got sent to Tartarus though, this time for stealing ambrosia from the gods. In time, Pelops fell in love with Hippodamea, but he could only marry her if he could win in a chariot race; to help him out, Poseidon gave him a really fast chariot.

As for Tantalus, Red argues that his crimes (including family murdering, attempted cannibalism, violating the laws of hospitality, subjecting the world to Agamemnon) but what she considers to be his actual irredeemable crime is attempting, along with his friend Pandareus, to steal a dog (who does that?). This golden dog was created by Hephaestus and made to guard baby Zeus. This paradox leaves Red totally baffled, but still unforgiving over his attempt to steal a dog.

## Credits

In the credits Red performs *Hungry Like a Wolf* by Duran Duran, and mentions that Tantalus' story must be very old, for he is mentioned in the *Odyssey*, a typical and old example of why kin-murdering and cannibalism are sins.

## Characters appearing

Tantalus

Zeus

Dionysus

Demeter

Hephaestus

Pelops

Artemis

Agamemnon

Hades

Poseidon

Hippodamea

Pandareus

## Notes

1. ↑ Or alternatively, Tantalus and Pandareus attempted to steal a dog guarding the infant Zeus, that was placed there by Rhea, in order to avoid any time-travelling confusion.