Tartaros
/ˈtɑːr.tə.rɒs/noun
In Greek mythology, Tartaros is the primordial abyss beneath the underworld, also personified as a divine being.
Did you know?In Hesiod’s mythology, Tartaros is not simply a place of punishment but a primordial cosmic power, as ancient as Gaia and Eros.
Etymological Timeline
Archaic Greek
Greek
Τάρταρος (Tártaros)
“A primordial abyss beneath the realm of the dead; later, a prison for divine enemies.”
8th–7th Century BCE
Greek
Τάρταρος
“The cosmic chasm described in Hesiod’s Theogony as profoundly distant beneath Earth.”
Classical Greek
Greek
Τάρταρος
“A mythic place where the Titans and other supernatural offenders were confined.”
1st Century BCE–1st Century CE
Latin
Tartarus
“The infernal abyss or prison of the damned in Roman literary usage.”
Old English and Medieval English
English
Tartarus
“A learned classical name for the deepest region of the underworld.”
Modern English
English
Tartarus
“The abyss or prison of the wicked in Greek mythology; sometimes used figuratively for an extreme inferno.”