Tantalus's torment

Origin

Tantalus, a king in Greek mythology, was audacious enough to steal ambrosia from the gods and even attempted to trick them into cannibalism by serving them his own son. For such heinous crimes, Zeus inflicted upon him an eternal, excruciating punishment in the underworld. There, Tantalus stood chin-deep in a pool of cool water, which would always recede just as he bent to drink, leaving him parched. Above him hung branches laden with ripe fruit, yet these too would constantly sway out of his grasp whenever he reached for them, forever denying him sustenance. This perpetual, unfulfilled longing is the source of the phrase describing an inescapable and maddening desire for something just out of reach.