What consequence did Tantalus face in the Underworld?

Tantalus faced the consequence of eternal hunger in the Underworld, where he was condemned to stand in a pool of water beneath a fruit tree. Whenever he reached for a piece of the fruit, it would recede out of his reach, and whenever he bent down to drink, the water would vanish before he could quench his thirst. This punishment symbolically represents his insatiable desire and serves as a fitting retribution for his past misdeeds, including stealing ambrosia and nectar from the gods and revealing divine secrets to mortals. The imagery of Tantalus, perpetually striving yet never attaining, underscores the themes of yearning and the futility of desire, cementing his role in mythology as a figure eternally trapped by his own actions.