person
Tantalus
also: Tantalus, Tantalo
In Greek myth a king, son of Zeus and father of Pelops, punished eternally in the underworld; founder of the line of legitimate kings of Argos. Cicero names him as the source of the throne held by lawful right.
Reading notes
- On the Ends of Good and Evil §1.60 like the stone over Tantalus
Tantalus, punished in the underworld, was in one version threatened by a great stone forever hanging over his head. Cicero (via the Stoic-tinged image) likens the fear of death constantly looming over fools.
- Tusculan Disputations §4.35 the poets make a rock hang over Tantalus among the dead
Tantalus, punished in the underworld with a rock perpetually threatening to fall on him. Cicero takes the image as an emblem of the fear that hangs over the foolish.