Did Tantalus Deserve His Punishment

The myth of Tantalus is one of many that deals with the punishments received by the gods. Many were punished because of their behavior or crimes they committed. Tantalus was someone that the gods and Zeus favored, he was frequently invited to Olympus to dine with them. Although the gods trusted Tantalus, he did not prove to them he was worthy enough to stand beside them. Tantalus started to commit crimes against the Gods and Zeus. The gods had invited Tantalus to a rich dinner in Mount Olympus, later that night he decided to steal ambrosia and nectar. Another crime that he committed was revel secrets that Zeus had shared with him, and conversation he had overheard from the gods. He would revel these secrets to the mortals. Then, he was involved with the kidnap of Zeus’s golden dog. Their not sure if he’s the one that stole the dog but he was hiding it and didn’t want to give it back. The gods did not punish him for these crimes because they though that he would change and learn from his mistakes. Tantalus showed the gods that he was incapable of changing by committing an offensive crime toward the gods. He invited the gods over for dinner, not certain if Tantalus didn’t have any food or if he just wanted to test them, he served them the remains of his son Pelops. The gods refused to eat their dinner, except for Demeter who ate Pelops’s shoulder. Its been said that Zeus restored Pelops’ …show more content…
The painting is titled Tantalus and was painted during 1630-1649. It was located at the Auckland Art Gallery in New Zealand. Tantalus is painted very large; he takes up most of the space in the painting. He is placed next to a tree with fruit right above his head. His body is positioned in an uncomfortable position; you can see that he is struggling to get the fruit. I like the placement and lighting of this art piece because it emphasizes the punishment he received for his