Mythful Meanings

In the English language, many meanings come from myths. This blog considers many of those words.

Myths are stories people tell to explain the great mysteries of life, such as birth and death, why the sun rises and sets, and why the moon changes in a predictable pattern.

I decided to start over from the end of the alphabet and work toward the beginning. I have a stack of index cards with information typed on them, all in alphabetical order. When I started this blog, I started at A, because I didn't realize that all the entries would be pushed down.

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Tantalus

In ancient Greek and Roman myth, Tantalus was a wealthy king who was the son of Zeus (Roman, Jupiter), the king of the gods, and one nymph or another . Because of a terrible sin, he was punished in the lower world. He had to stand in water up to his chin, with a branch of fruit just over his head. Yet whenever he reached for some fruit or tried to drink some water, they were out of his reach.

English word: Our word tantalize means "to tease by keeping something desirable in view, but out of reach.

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