#tantalus

“Ennaia—Herkynna, Erinys, Thourian, Sword-bearer—

once sliced up the flesh of your grandfather in her jaws

and buried it in her throat,

feasting on the cartilage of his shoulder.”

- Lycophron, Alexandra (C3rd B.C)

(For context: The first line lists multiple epithets of Demeter. The second says “your grandfather” because Cassandra, the narrator, is talking about Menelaus. Ergo, it can be simplified to “Demeter once sliced up the flesh of Pelops […]”)

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“When Pelops, son of Tantalus and Dione, daughter of Atlas, had been slain and cut up by Tantalus at a feast of the gods, Ceres ate his arm, but he was given life again by the will of the gods. When his other limbs were joined together as they had been, but the shoulder was not complete, Ceres fitted an ivory one in its place.”

- Hyginus, Fabulae (C2nd A.D)

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“Tantalus, king of the Corinthians, was a friend of the gods. Since he often entertained them, and on one occasion provisions failed, he killed his son Pelops and served him to the gods as a meal. Then, while all the others refrained from eating, Ceres consumed his shoulder. When the gods wished, through Mercury, to restore him to the world above, an ivory shoulder was given back to him, as the poet says: "and Pelops, distinguished by his ivory shoulder." Ceres alone is said to have eaten because she herself represents the earth, which dissolves the body. Pelops is said to have been restored through Mercury because Mercury is the god of intelligence, by means of which philosophers discovered palingenesis (rebirth) or metempsychosis (the transmigration of souls).”

If Pelopia's name derives from her grandfather, Pelops, it gets very frightening when looking at the full picture:

Pelops was murdered by his father, Tantalus, who served him to the gods in an attempt to either challenge or impress them.

And Pelopia was raped by her father, Thyestes, to sire Aegisthus after a prophecy foretold that a son between them will kill Atreus.

Whether or not she was named to honor him, the dark parallels remain that Pelops's suffering echoed generations later in Pelopia's.

im like that greek myth guy. the one who couldnt eat or drink anything even if the food was in front of him. thats me. and its sooooo silly. just eat the food! but i cannot. i have the Cannot Eat Anything Disorder.

AND ITS GETTING WORSE

i would give anything to just never be hungry again. and i feel awful bc im so privileged to have so much food and i waste it all bc i just. cant. eat it. why? HELL IF I KNOW!!!!

Do you think Pelops got targeted specifically because of his queerness? That Tantalus thought he was defective? And he would always compare him to Broteas who was actually "A true man and who should have inherited the throne"?