Tantalus, king of Sipylus, fathered Niobe, Pelops, and Broteas — children who inherited their father's entanglement with the gods and his cursed legacy.
⚠ Apollodorus (Epitome 2.2) names Dione, daughter of Atlas, as their mother; other sources give Euryanassa or Eurythemista.
Zeus and the Oceanid Plouto were the parents of Tantalus, who became king of Sipylus but offended the gods and was condemned to eternal punishment in the underworld.
Tantalus murdered his son Pelops, butchered his body, and served the flesh to the Olympian gods as a test of their omniscience. The gods restored Pelops to life and condemned Tantalus to eternal punishment.
Hermes was sent by Zeus to recover the golden dog that Pandareus had stolen from a Cretan temple and entrusted to Tantalus. When questioned, Tantalus denied having the dog, adding perjury to his offenses against the gods.
Tantalus stole nectar and ambrosia from the Olympians' table and shared the divine substances with mortals, violating the boundary between gods and men that his privileged position had allowed him to cross.
Tantalus was cast into Tartarus as punishment for his crimes against the gods. He stands in a pool of water beneath fruit trees, both perpetually receding when he reaches for them — a torment designed to mirror his theft of divine sustenance.
Zeus favored Tantalus above all mortals, welcoming him to dine among the Olympians. This divine patronage made Tantalus's betrayal — stealing nectar and serving Pelops to the gods — all the more egregious.
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