Phrases aside, Greek words play a large part in modern English vocabulary, with many thousands of commonly used words tracing their origins back to that place. So too does the word “tantalize.” In the foreground Cerberus can be seen in the centre with Sisyphus to his left and Tantalus to his right. To understand the word's history, we need to look to the Greek mythological figure Tantalus, who was said to be a king, the ruler of Sipylus, in modern Turkey. Hence the modern meaning of the word tantalize.