Tartarus

Hell in Greek mythology. It was part of Hades, the underworld and the worst people were sent their to be tormented.

For instance, one fellow was kept neck deep in a river but if he tried to drink the water sank away, leaving him with an everlong thirst. Another was forced to push a boulder up a hill. If he got to the top he could go the the Elysian Fields, but near the top, the boulder split and he had to start over.

Tar"ta*rus (?), n. [L., from Gr. .] Class. Myth.

The infernal regions, described in the Iliad as situated as far below Hades as heaven is above the earth, and by later writers as the place of punishment for the spirits of the wicked. By the later poets, also, the name is often used synonymously with Hades, or the Lower World in general.

 

© Webster 1913.