Is Tantalus Suspended Between His Desires?

This raises questions about the biology of your shade in Hades or Tartarus. Like does it actually need to eat and drink and he can't get it? Or is this just some kind of psychological need his soul has that's not really biological? I think there might very well be biological priorities that would place access to water above access to food. This is a basic idea that also pops up in the works of Aristotle and Al-Gazali, various other writers.