The Story of Tantalus

In Greek mythology, Tantalus was one of the many sons of Zeus.  Generally well-liked by the gods, Tantalus was often invited to dine with them.  At one of the Mount Olympus pot-lucks, Tantalus brought a stew made of his own son, Pelops*. The gods figured out what they were being served and nobody ate any, except for Demeter.  Distracted while thinking about her daughter (who had been kidnapped by Hades), she ate a chunk of shoulder.

Anyway, the gods restored Pelops to life, although he was missing part of his shoulder.  The missing shoulder was replaced with ivory, which isn't such a bad deal considering he was stew a couple of hours earlier.

As punishment for ruining dinner, Tantalus was sent to Tartarus, which is the part of the underworld where the gods sent people that really pissed them off.  Tantalus was bound and immersed in water up to his neck, below the overhanging branches of some low-hanging fruit.  Every time he'd bend down to drink, the water would recede before he could reach it.  And anytime he'd try to snag a piece of fruit with his teeth, the winds would blow the branches just beyond his reach.

From Tantalus we get the word 'tantalize,' temptation without satisfaction.

*In some versions, Tantalus stole ambrosia and the secrets of the gods and shared them with humans, but I'm always going to go with whatever version is the most ghoulish.