Tantalus

and contentment that now I understand that it isn’t my place to question God and what he has in store. The speaker of the poem is black and you can kindly assume Cullen is referring to himself. To open the poem, the speaker starts a conversation on knowing the importance of God’s actions “God is good, well- meaning & kind”. But as you read the poem goes for a strange turn- Cullen then questions some of his decisions. Lines 2-8 the speaker uses alliteration to reveal how he is confused to why things are the way they are and if God even cares what his decisions have done- making moles blind for them to fend for themselves, torturing Tantalus to constantly being ‘baited by the fickle fruit’, and the King of Ephyra, Sisyphus, “To struggle up a never-ending stair”. Cullen ties in being black with Greek Mythology in a wonderful and unusual way. Tantalus, a Greek character who is punished for an unmentionable act (making the Gods eat his son, Pelops, as an offering for his crimes) is stuck in the Underworld to stand in a pool of water under a fruit tree. Whenever he wanted a drink or eat the water & tree would pull away- using temptation to leave him forever unsatisfied. The speaker chooses this story to express how being black during this time is bittersweet. There are so many opportunities, but not available to those with a darker pigment to their skin- Its like he is being punished, on the outside looking in and made to continuously struggle. This also incorporates to question…

Greek myths were created a few thousand years ago, but they still apply to many aspects of life today. Greek myths are still relevant today through words, themes in superhero stories, and brand names. Many words used today are based on Greek mythology. One of these cases is the adjective ‘tantalize’. This word comes from the story of Tantalus. In this myth, Tantalus tries to feed his son to the gods, offending the gods. Because of his actions, he is sent to be tortured in the Underworld. His…

The curse of Atreus is said to be passed down through generation originating with Tantalus, king of Lydia. Tantalus was a hubris king who wished to test the god’s all-knowing ability. In order to test this ability, Tantalus killed his son Pelops serving him to the gods as dinner. The gods knew of this occurrence and were outraged by this test. They restored Pelops life and sentenced Tantalus to the underworld to be tortured for eternity. After Pelops was resurrected he married and had many…

Tantalus, a Greek mythological figure, famous for his punishment in Tartarus. Tantalus is forced to emerge himself in pool of water beneath a tree full of fruit with branches hanging low, with the fruit away from his grasp, and the water draining before taking a drink. As he starts to get frustrated, he sits on the big cube and looks as if he has given up and threw in the towel. Therefore, the cube is pulled up from beneath him, and he is dropped to the ground. Moving forward, he refuses to…

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,…

corrupt or evil behavior. I choose this theme as I believe that it shows us why the people of the ancient world worshipped and trusted in the gods as much as they did. I also think it teaches a lot of morals that people of many centuries have followed. The texts that I will be analyzing are, Tantalus by Homer, Prometheus by Hesiod, Sisyphus also by Homer, and Arachne by Ovid. All of these myths are from the Ancient Greek times. In the myth of Tantalus by Homer, the theme of ‘Punishment from the…

Zeus’s son, Tantalus, endorsed the curse on the House of Atreuis. Tantalus was a mortal, and was allowed to dine with the gods. Tantalus thought of himself as an equal to the great gods. He invited all the gods to a feast on Earth. The meal that Tantalus provided was odd and sick. The special appetizer consisted of his own son, Pelops. Understood what had occurred and became extremely upset, the gods banished Tantalus to be tormented in the underworld. To make the punishment even worse, the gods…

Tantalus was the son of Zeus and Pluto. Once Tantalus was invited to a banquet in Mt. Olympus, which was the home of the Gods. To impress the Gods, Tantalus and his wife chopped up their son, Pelops and put him into a stew to serve to the Gods. The Gods didn’t find this tasty as all, in fact after just one bite Zeus reassembled Pelops and brought him back to life, with one bite missing from his shoulder. Zeus and the other Gods didn’t find the idea of human sacrificing appealing at all. The Gods…

not perceive or experience his lot as a punishment.” Basically Fetrow means that in Cullen’s theology, instead of God making us in his own image physically Cullen takes it in a spiritual sense that “equips man for survival beyond the grave” (Fetrow 104). In conclusion between the relationship between the mole and the man Fetrow claims that they are “recipients of natural and supernatural justice respectively” (Fetrow 104). Throughout the second quatrain Cullen makes two allusions toward Greek…

your father? Would you leave your mother alone? But what if you are obligated to kill your father’s murder because the ancient laws of your gods tell you to do so? In the Edith Hamilton`s “The House of Atreus” Orestes is forced to make that choice in a situation that could argue that the death of his father could have been just ,but because he cannot let his father’s death call go unanswered at the same time there is another sacred rule to never kill your mother. The lesson in this is that…