Tityos
Tityos was a giant whose attempt to assault Leto earned him one of the underworld's most graphic eternal punishments — two vultures feeding on his liver.
The Legend of Tityos
A giant son of Gaia, Tityos attempted to assault Leto, the mother of Apollo and Artemis, as she travelled through Panopeus toward Delphi. Zeus's twin children killed him instantly — Apollo and Artemis riddled him with arrows. Zeus then cast Tityos into Tartarus, where two vultures eternally devoured his liver, which regrew each night. His punishment mirrors that of Prometheus, though Tityos earned his through assault rather than defiance. Odysseus saw him stretched across nine acres during his descent to Hades. The tale reinforced Delphi's sanctity and the lethal swiftness of divine retribution.
Symbols
Fun Fact
Tityos's punishment parallels Prometheus's eagle-and-liver torment — but without any of the glory or sympathy.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth. See our full guide to English words from Greek mythology.
Explore Further
Tityos
🗡 heropunishment
Giant who attempted to rape Leto and was condemned to have two vultures eat his regenerating liver in Tartarus forever.
Tantalus
🗡 heroKing punished with eternal hunger and thirst
A king who offended the gods by serving them his own son as a meal. His punishment in Tartarus — standing in water that recedes when he tries to drink, beneath fruit that pulls away when he reaches for it — gave us the word "tantalize."
Ixion
🗡 heropunishment
First human murderer of kin, who attempted to seduce Hera and was bound to an eternally spinning wheel of fire.
Erysichthon
🗡 heropunishment
A Thessalian king cursed by Demeter with insatiable hunger after destroying her sacred grove — he devoured everything he owned, then consumed himself.
Polyphemus
🐉 creaturesavagery
One-eyed giant son of Poseidon who trapped Odysseus and ate six of his men before being blinded with a burning stake.
Tantalus
🗡 heropunishment
King invited to dine with the gods who stole nectar and ambrosia and served his son Pelops as a stew to test divine omniscience.
Caucasian Eagle
🐉 creaturepunishment,sky
The eagle — offspring of Typhon and Echidna in some traditions — tasked by Zeus with devouring the liver of Prometheus each day upon his rocky prison.
Acastus
🗡 herovengeance
King of Iolcus and Argonaut who tried to murder Peleus through treachery on Mount Pelion — a tale of false accusation and sacred hospitality violated.
Atreus
🗡 herovengeance
King of Mycenae who murdered his nephews and fed them to his brother Thyestes, establishing the bloodiest family curse in myth.
Thyestes
🗡 herocurse
Brother of Atreus who seduced his sister-in-law and was tricked into eating his own children at the feast of Atreus.
Prometheus
🏔 titanpunishment
Titan who stole fire from the gods for humanity and was chained to a mountain where an eagle ate his liver daily.
Aegyptus
🗡 heroNone recorded
A mythological king with fifty sons who demanded marriage to the fifty daughters of his brother Danaus, precipitating one of the most infamous mass killings in Greek mythology