DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.14698#0489
with the mysteries 417
tion, urges that Pelops son of Tantalos may well have been an Achaean prince of the
East-Achaean empire, who as a Hittite vassal would be called the 'son,' i.e. the servant,
°f the great Hittite king.
Tantalos' grave was shown in two localities, both Hittite centres. He had a shrine at
°hon in Lesbos (Steph. Byz. s.v. IIoXioc, b> Xerrfiif riwos, dirov to rjpyoc Tac-raXoi;), where
a mountain bore his name (Steph. Byz. s.v. TdiraXos, opos A4afiov, airb TavraXov). The
fountain has not been identified with certainty (L. Btirchner in Pauly—Wissowa Real-
■ x'i. 2116), but is probably the height near Cape Plagids on which stands the modern
0 ts (id. ib. xii. 2131), despite the reported absence of ancient remains (A. Conze Reise
Uufder fusel Lesbos Hannover 1865 p. 50 pi. 1 map). Again, Tantalos had a famous
Sfave on Mt Sipylos in Lydia. In view of Paus. 1. 22. 3 toO Be Xeyofitvov Ai6s re elvai Kai
. OVTovs (ttXtjtovs cod. M. XtjtoOs codd. Vab. M. La. R. Pa., the last two with irXovrovs
ftiarg. Supra i. 156 n. 13) ISuv otda iv SixiJXij) rdipov dias ajioc and 5. 13. 7 II^XoTros St
tj*' ^a"TaXou ttjs Trap' 7ip.lv ivotKr/rreus <rqfieia (tl Kai is rode Xei7r«Tai, TacraXou p.h \ifivri re
UTov Ka\ov/i4vT) (cp. 8. 17. 3) /cat ovk icpavr/s racpos, IIeXo7ros Be iv 2t7nyX<fj p,ev Bpdvos
iZ (supra i. 137 ff., ii. 956 n. 2) Harrison Proleg. Gk. Rel.'2 p. 607 justly concludes:
antalos is a real king, with a real grave. Pausanias...mentions no cult, but a grave so
eworthy would not be left untended.' It must also be remembered that the bones
HeX<:rVet' 'n a bronze c"ta (') close to the tomb of Pelasgos in the precinct of Demeter
p p . s at Argos were by some taken to be those of Tantalos (supra ii. 1144 n. 2).
Co rie<Haender Argolica Berolini 1905 p. 74 with n. 17 holds that Tantalos was originally
Subst • W'1^ Lesbos, later located 'a poeta aliquo' on Sipylos, and never had any
antial existence in the Peloponnese.
Jlfyf^nla^0fi 'n Greek times became almost a doublet of Atlas (F. Creuzer Symbolik und
je > °^le3 Leipzig and Darmstadt 1836 i. 9 'einem Atlas des Morgenlandes,' G. Dumezil
doijjj/ ^'immortalitt' Paris 1924 p. 91 ' Alias, oil l'on a depuis longtemps devine un
tleidevu Tantale? cp. ib. p. 12j, J. Karst Die vorgeschichtlichen Mittelmeervolker
heSperj,frS '931 p- 433 'Der "Phryger-Lyder" Tantalos ist eine Doppelfigur des
m0unta.ISC Atlas'). How this happened is far from clear. Conceivably the Lesbian
conr]e ^"antalos was locally regarded as a sky-pillar, and the place Polion mistakenly
Atlas b ]v,t^ P°'los, the 'sky.' If so, Tantalos supporting Polion might be suggestive of
up. Q earing his polos (Aisch. P.v. 430, Eur. frag. 594 Nauck2 (Kritias frag. 18 Diels)
h\0s q strom- 5- 6 p. 350, 13 Stahlin and schol. Aristoph. av. i79 = Souid. s.v.
a Mt Je V' -(as/' 5- '8o)- A parallel is afforded by Tanagra: here was a tomb of Orion,
Voider th^'°n °n w^'cn Hermes was born, and a place called Polos where Atlas sat to
^**e« olj6 '^'"S5 under the earth and the things in heaven—Atlas os re Bakaao-qs | 7rdoTjs
-0, ^ . . ev> ^X^t- Be re klovols avrbs \ /xaKpds, at yaidv re Kai ovpavbv afupis £'x0VGiV (Paus. 9.
^ Sj°**-5»tt). Another reason likely to assimilate Tantalos to Atlas is that
■"^'•(iXoj S.Were °f kindred significance (W. Scheuer in Roscher Lex. Myth. v. 82
"heberi "'/^ a"£emem gestellt zu den Wurzeln reX-, toK-, rX-q-, deren Grundbedeutung
'tragen>, ^ leben, tragen" ist. Also ist der Name herzuleiten von raXaw ~ rX^i/ai
?**Pt0oglicjr 1 'S' zur fotcnsivform redupliziert worden. Demnach lautete die Form
!^erdasW- fa^Ta^os "der Trager" (nicht "der viel Duldende", sondern wohl eher
?entale (T gjlllle,sgewolbe Sttitzende"...), wobei dann das erste X durch Assimilation an
'a '"tensiv /M "^eworden ist. ...Zu TavraXos gehort etymologisch auch der Heros'ArXas
p echitcAe^nJtt>i der Stamm also "cIer schwer Tragende.'" Cp. A. Fick Die
<Jr' p- 938 "w e''S0"e"na"l<:n- Gottingen 1894 p. 410, Boisacq Diet. 6tym. de la Langue
■ Accorcl'in ,a ei"~Pokorny Vergl. Wbrterb. d. indogerm. Spr. i. 739).
rJ mid air S y' ^UriPides tells how 'Tantalus, the reputed son of Zeus, hangs suspended
m0lerid8e),' anl "S at the crag which looms above his head' 5 ff' lranS' E' P-
cll'dvvay 'twixt makes Elektra sigh ' Oh ! to reach that rock which hangs suspended
fatllllS 0f Sold eanh a"d lleaven' that fragment from Olympus torn, which swings on
St*1 ^vllo be 'n °easeless revolution, that I may utter my lament to Tantalus my fore-
1 ftnd. of31 the ancest°rs of my house' [Or. 982 ff. trans. E. P. Coleridge). The
c III ' 91 a 'P 38' 6 ff' Drachmann) clairr|s that in these passages Euripides,
27
tion, urges that Pelops son of Tantalos may well have been an Achaean prince of the
East-Achaean empire, who as a Hittite vassal would be called the 'son,' i.e. the servant,
°f the great Hittite king.
Tantalos' grave was shown in two localities, both Hittite centres. He had a shrine at
°hon in Lesbos (Steph. Byz. s.v. IIoXioc, b> Xerrfiif riwos, dirov to rjpyoc Tac-raXoi;), where
a mountain bore his name (Steph. Byz. s.v. TdiraXos, opos A4afiov, airb TavraXov). The
fountain has not been identified with certainty (L. Btirchner in Pauly—Wissowa Real-
■ x'i. 2116), but is probably the height near Cape Plagids on which stands the modern
0 ts (id. ib. xii. 2131), despite the reported absence of ancient remains (A. Conze Reise
Uufder fusel Lesbos Hannover 1865 p. 50 pi. 1 map). Again, Tantalos had a famous
Sfave on Mt Sipylos in Lydia. In view of Paus. 1. 22. 3 toO Be Xeyofitvov Ai6s re elvai Kai
. OVTovs (ttXtjtovs cod. M. XtjtoOs codd. Vab. M. La. R. Pa., the last two with irXovrovs
ftiarg. Supra i. 156 n. 13) ISuv otda iv SixiJXij) rdipov dias ajioc and 5. 13. 7 II^XoTros St
tj*' ^a"TaXou ttjs Trap' 7ip.lv ivotKr/rreus <rqfieia (tl Kai is rode Xei7r«Tai, TacraXou p.h \ifivri re
UTov Ka\ov/i4vT) (cp. 8. 17. 3) /cat ovk icpavr/s racpos, IIeXo7ros Be iv 2t7nyX<fj p,ev Bpdvos
iZ (supra i. 137 ff., ii. 956 n. 2) Harrison Proleg. Gk. Rel.'2 p. 607 justly concludes:
antalos is a real king, with a real grave. Pausanias...mentions no cult, but a grave so
eworthy would not be left untended.' It must also be remembered that the bones
HeX<:rVet' 'n a bronze c"ta (') close to the tomb of Pelasgos in the precinct of Demeter
p p . s at Argos were by some taken to be those of Tantalos (supra ii. 1144 n. 2).
Co rie<Haender Argolica Berolini 1905 p. 74 with n. 17 holds that Tantalos was originally
Subst • W'1^ Lesbos, later located 'a poeta aliquo' on Sipylos, and never had any
antial existence in the Peloponnese.
Jlfyf^nla^0fi 'n Greek times became almost a doublet of Atlas (F. Creuzer Symbolik und
je > °^le3 Leipzig and Darmstadt 1836 i. 9 'einem Atlas des Morgenlandes,' G. Dumezil
doijjj/ ^'immortalitt' Paris 1924 p. 91 ' Alias, oil l'on a depuis longtemps devine un
tleidevu Tantale? cp. ib. p. 12j, J. Karst Die vorgeschichtlichen Mittelmeervolker
heSperj,frS '931 p- 433 'Der "Phryger-Lyder" Tantalos ist eine Doppelfigur des
m0unta.ISC Atlas'). How this happened is far from clear. Conceivably the Lesbian
conr]e ^"antalos was locally regarded as a sky-pillar, and the place Polion mistakenly
Atlas b ]v,t^ P°'los, the 'sky.' If so, Tantalos supporting Polion might be suggestive of
up. Q earing his polos (Aisch. P.v. 430, Eur. frag. 594 Nauck2 (Kritias frag. 18 Diels)
h\0s q strom- 5- 6 p. 350, 13 Stahlin and schol. Aristoph. av. i79 = Souid. s.v.
a Mt Je V' -(as/' 5- '8o)- A parallel is afforded by Tanagra: here was a tomb of Orion,
Voider th^'°n °n w^'cn Hermes was born, and a place called Polos where Atlas sat to
^**e« olj6 '^'"S5 under the earth and the things in heaven—Atlas os re Bakaao-qs | 7rdoTjs
-0, ^ . . ev> ^X^t- Be re klovols avrbs \ /xaKpds, at yaidv re Kai ovpavbv afupis £'x0VGiV (Paus. 9.
^ Sj°**-5»tt). Another reason likely to assimilate Tantalos to Atlas is that
■"^'•(iXoj S.Were °f kindred significance (W. Scheuer in Roscher Lex. Myth. v. 82
"heberi "'/^ a"£emem gestellt zu den Wurzeln reX-, toK-, rX-q-, deren Grundbedeutung
'tragen>, ^ leben, tragen" ist. Also ist der Name herzuleiten von raXaw ~ rX^i/ai
?**Pt0oglicjr 1 'S' zur fotcnsivform redupliziert worden. Demnach lautete die Form
!^erdasW- fa^Ta^os "der Trager" (nicht "der viel Duldende", sondern wohl eher
?entale (T gjlllle,sgewolbe Sttitzende"...), wobei dann das erste X durch Assimilation an
'a '"tensiv /M "^eworden ist. ...Zu TavraXos gehort etymologisch auch der Heros'ArXas
p echitcAe^nJtt>i der Stamm also "cIer schwer Tragende.'" Cp. A. Fick Die
<Jr' p- 938 "w e''S0"e"na"l<:n- Gottingen 1894 p. 410, Boisacq Diet. 6tym. de la Langue
■ Accorcl'in ,a ei"~Pokorny Vergl. Wbrterb. d. indogerm. Spr. i. 739).
rJ mid air S y' ^UriPides tells how 'Tantalus, the reputed son of Zeus, hangs suspended
m0lerid8e),' anl "S at the crag which looms above his head' 5 ff' lranS' E' P-
cll'dvvay 'twixt makes Elektra sigh ' Oh ! to reach that rock which hangs suspended
fatllllS 0f Sold eanh a"d lleaven' that fragment from Olympus torn, which swings on
St*1 ^vllo be 'n °easeless revolution, that I may utter my lament to Tantalus my fore-
1 ftnd. of31 the ancest°rs of my house' [Or. 982 ff. trans. E. P. Coleridge). The
c III ' 91 a 'P 38' 6 ff' Drachmann) clairr|s that in these passages Euripides,
27