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Tartarus

Literary Character
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

In Greek mythology, both a primordial deity of the abyss and the deep pit of torment in the underworld for the wicked.

Detailed Definition
Tartarus, deeper than Hades, confines Titans and the wicked, described vividly by Hesiod and Virgil. In poetry, he appears as the ultimate symbol of divine punishment, the cosmic antithesis to heaven, and the metaphorical depth of despair or moral degradation in lyrical and epic contexts.
Example
Example in poetry:
Tartarus in Hesiod’s "Theogony" is a primordial abyss, later personified as prison for Titans; In Virgil’s "Aeneid," Tartarus houses the wicked, described through vivid infernal imagery; Milton’s "Paradise Lost" blends Tartarus with Hell as site of demonic punishment; Modern poets use Tartarus metaphorically to represent psychological or political depths of despair.
Additional Notes
Tartarus, the abyssal prison of the damned in Greek myth, is personified in Hesiod and dramatized in Virgil and Dante; as a literary character, it functions as both place and agent of divine punishment—essential for analyzing how underworld spaces are animated in eschatological and allegorical poetry.
Also Known As
Tartaros
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