Tantalum was named by its discoverer, Swedish chemist Anders Ekberg for Tantalus, a Greek mythological figure, most famous for his eternal punishment in Tartarus. Tantalus was made to stand in a pool of water beneath a fruit tree with low branches, with the fruit ever eluding his grasp, and the water always receding before he could take a drink. Ekberg selected the name because the element's inability to absorb acid recalled Tantalus' punishment to him.