Tityos (Punishment)
heroGiant who attempted to rape Leto and was condemned to have two vultures eat his regenerating liver in Tartarus forever.
The Myth
Two vultures eat his liver every day and it grows back every night — the same punishment later given to Prometheus, but for lust instead of defiance. Tityos, a giant son of Zeus (or Gaia), tried to assault Leto, mother of Apollo and Artemis. The divine twins killed him with arrows. In Tartarus, Tityos lies stretched across nine acres while two vultures tear at his regenerating liver. Homer and Virgil both describe the scene. The liver-eating punishment connects him to Prometheus, but with opposite moral valence: Prometheus suffered for helping humanity; Tityos suffers for attacking a goddess. The liver was considered the seat of desire in Greek thought, making the punishment specifically target the organ that caused the crime.
Symbols
Fun Fact
The Greeks believed the liver was the seat of desire — so the vultures eat the specific organ that drove Tityos's crime.
Explore Further
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Prometheus (Punishment)
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