Tantalus
Τάνταλος
A king condemned never to reach the water and fruit before his eyes.
He tried to test the gods by cooking his own son and serving him — and was punished in the underworld.
He stands neck-deep in water, but it drains away when he tries to drink; the fruit overhead lifts out of reach when he stretches for it.
The word tantalize comes from his name — as does tantalum, the metal that resists dissolving in acid.
SourcesHomer, Odyssey