previous next
Tantălus (-los ), i (Greek collat. form of dat. Tantaleo, after the form Τανταλεύς), m., = Τάνταλος,
I.a king of Phrygia, son of Jupiter, and father of Pelops and Niobe. He was admitted by Jupiter to the feasts of the gods; “but, having disclosed their secrets, he was sent for punishment to the infernal regions, where he stood up to his chin in water under an overhanging fruittree, both of which retreated whenever he attempted to satisfy the hunger and thirst that tormented him. A rock also hung over him ever threatening to fall,” Hyg. Fab. 82; Ov. Am. 2, 2, 44; id. M. 4, 457; 6, 172; 10, 41; Poët. ap. Cic. Tusc. 1, 5, 10; Cic. Tusc. 4, 16, 35; id. Fin. 1, 18, 60; Hor. Epod. 17, 66; id. S. 1, 1, 68; Tib. 1, 3, 77 al.—Hence,
A. Tantălĕus , a, um, adj., of or belonging to Tantalus: “sors,” Prop. 2, 17 (3, 9), 5: “manus,” id. 2, 1, 66: “mensa,” Stat. Th. 11, 128. —
B. Tantălĭdes , ae, m., a male descendant of Tantalus; of Pelops, Ov. Tr. 2, 385; of the grandsons of Tantalus (Atreus and Thyestes): Tantalidarum internecio, Poët. ap. Cic. N. D. 3, 38, 90; so, “Tantalidae fratres,” Ov. F. 2, 627; of his great-grandson, Agamemnon, id. M. 12, 626; id. H. 8, 45; id. Am. 2, 8, 13; id. F. 5, 307 al.—
C. Tan-tălis , ĭdis, f., a female descendant of Tantalus; of Niobe, Ov. M. 6, 211; Stat. Th. 3, 193; Sen. Herc. Oet. 197; of Hermione, daughter of Menelaus, Ov. H. 8, 122: “matres,” descended from Tantalus, id. ib. 8, 66.
A Latin Dictionary. Founded on Andrews' edition of Freund's Latin dictionary. revised, enlarged, and in great part rewritten by. Charlton T. Lewis, Ph.D. and. Charles Short, LL.D. Oxford. Clarendon Press. 1879.

The National Endowment for the Humanities provided support for entering this text.

hide Dictionary Entry Lookup
Use this tool to search for dictionary entries in all lexica.
Search for in
hide References (14 total)
  • Cross-references in general dictionaries from this page (14):
    • Ovid, Metamorphoses, 12.626
    • Ovid, Metamorphoses, 4.457
    • Ovid, Metamorphoses, 6.211
    • Ovid, Metamorphoses, 8.66
    • Seneca, Hercules Oetaeus, 197
    • Cicero, de Finibus Bonorum et Malorum, 1.18
    • Cicero, de Natura Deorum, 3.38
    • Cicero, Tusculanae Disputationes, 1.5
    • Cicero, Tusculanae Disputationes, 4.16
    • Sextus Propertius, Elegies, 2.17
    • Statius, Thebias, 11
    • Statius, Thebias, 3
    • Ovid, Fasti, 2
    • Ovid, Fasti, 5
hide Display Preferences
Greek Display:
Arabic Display:
View by Default:
Browse Bar: