Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (1870) - Volume 3.djvu/986

Rh 974 TANTALUS. B. c. 194. He was praetor in B. <;. 192, when he received Bruttii as his province, with two legions, and 1500 foot-soldiers and 500 horse of the allies. In consequence of the threatening war with An- tiochus the Great, he was ordered to march with these troops to the neighbourhood of Brundisium and Tarentum, and soon afterwards to cross over with them to Epeirus. He remained in Greece the following year as propraetor, and took an active part in the war against Antiochus. In conjunction with Philip, king of Macedonia, he marched into Thessaly, and as Antiochus retreated before them, Tamphilus obtained possession of many important towns in Thessaly. The consul M'. Acilius Glabrio arrived soon afterwards, and took the command of the troops, but Tamphilus continued in Greece, serving under the consul. (Liv. xxxiv. 45, xxxv. 10, 23, 24, xxxvi. 8, 10, 13, 14, 22.) In B. c. 186, Tamphilus was one of the three ambassadors sent to settle the disputes between Eumenes and Philip and the Thessalian states. In B. c. 181 he was consul with P. Cornelius Cethegus. Both consuls received Liguria as their province, but they did not engage in any military operations. In the following year, however, when their command was prolonged till the arrival of the new consuls, they marched at the commence- ment of the spring into the territory of the Apuani Ligures, who, taken unawares, found themselves obliged to surrender. In order to prevent a re- newal of the war, the consuls transported 40,000 of these people, with their wives and children, to Samnium. On account of this success, they tri- umphed on their return to Rome, being the first instance in which this honour had been conferred upon generals who had not carried on a war. (Liv. xxxix. 23, 24, xl. 18, 35, 37, 38.) 4. Cn. Baebius Tamphilus, probably son of No. 2, was praetor urbanus, B. c. 168. In the following year he was one of the five legati sent into Illyricum. (Liv. xliv. 17, xlv. 17). The following coin of C. Baebius Tamphilus has on the obverse the head of Pallas, and on the reverse Apollo driving a quadriga. COIN OP C. BAEBIUS TAMPHILUS. TANAGRA (Tdvaypa), a daughter of Aeolus or Asopus, and wife of Poemander, is said to have given the name to the town of Tanagra in Boeotia. (Paus. ix. 20. § 2 ; Strab. ix. p. 403.) [L. S.] TA'NAQUIL. [Tarquinius.] TA'NTALUS (TdvTaXos). 1. A son of Zeus by Pluto, or according to others ( Schol. ad Eun'p. Orest. 5 ; Tzetz. Chil. v. 444 ; Apostol. Cent, xviii. 7) a son of Tmolus. (Hygin. Fab. 82, 154 ; Anton. Lib. 36.) His wife is called by some Euryanassa (Schol. ad Eurip. I. c. ; Tzetz. ad Lycaph. 52), by others Taygete or Dione (Hygin. Fab. 82 ; Ov. Met. vi. 174), and by others Clytia or Euprytn (Schol. ad Eurip. Or. 11 ; Apostol. I.e.) He was the &ther of Pelops, Broteas, and Niobe. (Schol. TANTALUS. ad Eurip. Or. 5; Diod. iv. 74.) All traditions agree in stating that he was a wealthy king, but while some call him king of Lydia, of Sipj'lus in Phrygia or Paphlagonia, others describe him as king of Argos or Corinth. (Hygin. Fab. 124 ; Serv. ad Aen. vi. f^O'6 ; Diod. I. c.) Tantalus is particularly celebrated in ancient story for the severe punishment inflicted upon him after his death in the lower world, the causes of which are diffe- rently stated by the ancient authors. The common account is that Zeus invited him to his table and communicated his divine counsels to him. Tanta- lus divulged the secrets intrusted to him, and the gods punished him by placing him in the nether world in the midst of a lake, but rendering it im- possible for him to drink when he was thirsty, the water always withdrawing when he stooped. Branches laden with fruit, moreover, hung over his head, but when he stretched out his hand to reach the fruit, the branches withdrew. (Hom. Od. xi. 582.) Over his head there was suspended a huge rock ever threatening to crush him. (Pind. 01. i. 90, &c., Isthn. viii. 21 ; Eurip. Or. 5, &c. ; Diod. V. 74 ; Philostr. Vit. Apollon. iii. 25 ; Hvgin. Fab. 82; Horat. Sat. i. I. 68 ; Tibull. i. 3' 77 ; Ov. Met. iv. 457, Art. Am. ii. 605 ; Senec. Here. Fur. 752; Cic. de Fin. i. 18, Tuscul. iv. 16.) Another tradition relates that he, wanting to try the gods, cut his son Pelops in pieces, boiled them and set them before the gods at a repast. (Hygin. Fab. 83 ; Serv. ad Aen. vi. 603, ad Georg. iii. 7.) A third account states that Tantalus stole nectar and ambrosia from the table of the gods and gave them to his friends (Pind. 01. i. 98 ; Tzetz. Chil. V. 465) ; and a fourth lastly relates the following story. Rhea caused the infant Zeus and his nurse to be guarded in Crete by a golden dog, whom sub- sequently Zeus appointed guardian of his temple in Crete. Pandareus stole this dog, and, carrying him to Mount Sipylus in Lydia, gave him to Tan- talus to take care of. But afterwards, when Pan- dareus demanded the dog back, Tantalus took an oath that he had never received him. Zeus there- upon changed Pandareus into a stone, and threw Tantalus down from Mount Sipylus. (Anton. Lib. 36.) Others again relate that Hermes demanded the dog of Tantalus, and that the perjury was com- mitted before Hermes. (Pind. Ol. i. 90.) Zeus buried Tantalus under Mount Sipylus as a punish- ment. (Schol. ad Pind. 01. 90, 97.) There his tomb was shown in later times. (Paus. ii. 22. § 4, V. 13. § 4.) In the Lesche of Delphi Tantalus wag represented by Polygnotus in the situation de- scribed in the common tradition : he was standing in water, with a fruit-tree over his head, and threatened by an overhanging rock. (Paus. x. 31. § 2.) The punishment of Tantalus was proverbial in ancient times, and from it the English language has borrowed the verb " to tantalize," that is, to hold out hopes or prospects which cannot be realized. Tzetzes {ad Lycoph. 355) mentions that Tantalus was in love with Ganymede, and engaged with Ilus in a contest for the possession of the charming youth. 2. A son of Thyestes, who was killed by Atreus (Hygin. Fab. 88, 244, 246 ; others call him a son of Broteas). He was married to Clytaemnestra before Agamemnon (Paus. ii. 22. § 4), and is said by some to have been killed by Agamemnon. (Paus. ii. 18. § 2, comp. iii, 22. § 4.) His tomb was shown at Argos.