Tartarus

The Abyss

Tartarus was both a place and a primordial deity — one of the first beings to emerge from Chaos at the creation of the universe. As a location, it was the deepest region of existence, as far beneath the Underworld as the earth is beneath the sky. Hesiod wrote that a bronze anvil would fall from the surface of the earth for nine days and nine nights before reaching Tartarus.

Surrounded by walls of bronze and wrapped in triple layers of night, Tartarus was the ultimate prison. After the Titanomachy, Zeus hurled the defeated Titans into Tartarus, where the Hecatoncheires stood guard at its bronze gates.

Famous Punishments

Tartarus was the destination for those who committed the gravest offenses against the gods:

Sisyphus was condemned to roll a massive boulder up a hill for eternity. Each time he neared the summit, the stone rolled back to the bottom.

Tantalus stood in a pool of water beneath fruit trees. When he reached for fruit, the branches pulled away. When he bent to drink, the water receded. He suffered eternal hunger and thirst — the origin of the word "tantalize."

Ixion was bound to a spinning wheel of fire for eternity, punished for attempting to seduce Hera.

The Danaïdes — the fifty daughters of Danaus — were condemned to fill a bottomless jar with water, endlessly carrying and pouring to no effect, as punishment for murdering their husbands on their wedding night.