坦塔罗斯
Tantalus was the rich and mighty king of Lydia．Son of Zeus by a fairy maiden，he was greatly favored by the gods．He was invited to share wine and food with them at their banquetsbanquet n.宴会，and he was let into their secrets．But ever the latter end of joy is woe．Either because he had stolen wine or gave away the secrets of Zeus，or because he had become so proud as to test the gods by serving up the flesh of his son Pelops to them，he incurred the wrath of Zeus and was hurled(hurl vt.用力投掷， 愤慨地说出， 丢下， 推翻 vi.猛投， 猛掷) down to the everlasting darkness of Tartarus(Tartarus n.地狱底下暗无天日之深渊)．
坦塔罗斯是罗底亚富有而又强大的国王。他是宙斯和一位仙女的儿子，深受众神喜爱。众神请他参加宴会，与他们共享美酒与美食，并且还让他了解他们的秘密。然而乐极生悲。或许是他偷了美酒，或者泄露了宙斯的秘密，或许是他太骄傲以至于献上自己儿子珀罗普斯的肉来检验神的智慧，他招致了宙斯的愤怒，被打入了永远黑暗的地狱中。
There he was made to stand up to his chin in a little lake，with clusters of luscious fruits hanging over and around his head．He strove eternally to drink the everevading water and to clutch at the delicious fruits which were ever tossed out of his reach by blasts(blast n.一阵（风）， 一股（气流）， 爆炸， 冲击波 vt.爆炸， ，毁灭， 使枯萎， 损害 )of wind．Thus he was doomed to endure endless burning thirst and bitter hunger in the world of the shades．The whole occurrence had given rise to the expression “tantalizing”，meaning something in plain view but unattainable．
在那里他被迫站定于一小湖中，水没至下颌，无数甜美的水果悬于头顶和四周。他从不间歇地努力喝水，但水总是从嘴边流走；他试图抓住那些美味的水果，但总是被阵阵来风吹离，使他无法得到。因而他注定要在阴间遭受炙渴和难以忍受的饥饿。“tantalizing”一词即由此而来，意思是在眼前却无法得到的某个东西。
