Editing Sisyphus

{{Short description|King of Ephyra in Greek mythology}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Distinguish|Syphilis}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
[[File:Nekyia Staatliche Antikensammlungen 1494 n2.jpg|thumb|alt=Sisyphus depicted on a black-figure amphora vase |[[Persephone]] supervising Sisyphus in the [[Greek underworld|Underworld]], Attic [[Black-figure pottery|black-figure]] amphora, {{circa|530}} BC, [[Staatliche Antikensammlungen]]<ref>museum {{abbr|inv.|inventory number}} 1494</ref>]]
[[File:François Tomb Carlo Ruspi 02.jpg|thumb|Sisyphus and [[Amphiaraus]], copy of mural in [[François Tomb]] from [[Vulci]] made in 4th century BC]]

In [[Greek mythology]], '''Sisyphus''' or '''Sisyphos''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|ɪ|s|ᵻ|f|ə|s|audio=LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-Sisyphus.wav}}; [[Ancient Greek]]: Σίσυφος ''Sísyphos'') was the founder and king of [[Ancient Corinth|Ephyra]] (now known as [[Corinth]]). He reveals [[Zeus]]'s abduction of [[Aegina (mythology)|Aegina]] to the river god [[Asopus]], thereby incurring Zeus's wrath. His subsequent cheating of death earns him eternal punishment in the [[Greek underworld|underworld]], once he dies of old age. The gods forced him to roll an immense boulder up a hill only for it to roll back down every time it neared the top, repeating this action for [[eternity]]. Through the [[classicism|classical influence]] on contemporary culture, tasks that are both [[wikt:laborious#Adjective|laborious]] and [[wikt:futile#Adjective|futile]] are therefore described as '''Sisyphean''' ({{IPAc-en|s|ɪ|s|ᵻ|ˈ|f|iː|ən}}).<ref>{{OED|Sisyphean}}</ref>

== Etymology ==
[[Robert S. P. Beekes|R. S. P. Beekes]] has suggested a [[pre-Greek]] origin and a connection with the root of the word ''{{transliteration|grc|sophos}}'' (σοφός, "wise").<ref>[[Robert S. P. Beekes|R. S. P. Beekes]], ''Etymological Dictionary of Greek'', Brill, 2009, p. xxxiii.</ref> German [[mythographer]] [[Otto Gruppe]] thought that the name derived from ''{{transliteration|grc|sisys}}'' (σίσυς, "a goat's skin"), in reference to a rain-charm in which goats' skins were used.<ref>Gruppe, O. ''Griechische Mythologie'' (1906), ii., p. 1021</ref>

== Family ==
Sisyphus was formerly a [[Ancient Thessaly|Thessalian]] prince as the son of King [[Aeolus (son of Hellen)|Aeolus]] of Aeolia and [[Enarete]], daughter of [[Deïmachus (mythology)|Deimachus]].<ref>[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Apollod.+1.7.3&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022:book=1:chapter=7&highlight=Sisyphus 1.7.3]</ref> He was the brother of [[Athamas]], [[Salmoneus]], [[Cretheus]], [[Perieres (king of Messenia)|Perieres]], [[Deioneus]], [[Magnes (son of Aeolus)|Magnes]], [[Calyce (mythology)|Calyce]], [[Canace]], [[Alcyone and Ceyx|Alcyone]], [[Pisidice]] and [[Perimede (mythology)|Perimede]].

Sisyphus married the [[Pleiades (Greek mythology)|Pleiad]] [[Merope (Pleiades)|Merope]] by whom he became the father of [[Ornytion]] ([[Porphyrion (mythology)|Porphyrion]]<ref>Scholia on [[Apollonius of Rhodes]], ''[[Argonautica]]'' 3.1094</ref>), [[Glaucus of Corinth|Glaucus]], [[Thersander]] and [[Almus of Orchomenus|Almus]].<ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.+2.4.3&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160:chapter=&highlight=Thersander 2.4.3]</ref> He was the grandfather of [[Bellerophon]] through Glaucus;<ref name= ":0">Apollodorus, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Apollod.+1.9.3&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022:book=1:chapter=9&highlight=Sisyphus 1.9.3]</ref><ref name="Homer Iliad VI 152ff">[[Homer]], ''[[Iliad]]'' 6.152 ff.</ref> and of [[Minyas (mythology)|Minyas]], founder of [[Orchomenus (Boeotia)|Orchomenus]], through Almus.<ref name=":1">Scholia on Apollonius of Rhodes, ''Argonautica'' 3.1553</ref> Another account related that Minyas was Sisyphus's son instead.<ref>Scholia on Homer, ''Iliad'' 2.511</ref>

In other versions of the myth, Sisyphus was the true father of [[Odysseus]] by [[Anticlea of Ithaca|Anticleia]] instead of [[Laertes (father of Odysseus)|Laërtes]].<ref name= ":02">Hyginus, ''Fabulae'' 201; [[Plutarch]], ''Quaestiones Graecae'' 43; [[Suda|Suida]], s.v. ''[https://topostext.org/work/240#si.490 Sisyphus]''</ref>

== Mythology ==
{{Greek underworld}}

=== Reign ===
Sisyphus was the founder and first king of Ephyra (supposedly the original name of [[Ancient Corinth|Corinth]]).<ref name=":0" /> According to [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], Sisyphus, as king, founded the [[Isthmian games]] in honour of [[Melicertes]], whose dead body was found washed up along the [[Isthmus of Corinth]], having been carried to shore by a dolphin.<ref>Hard, p. 431; [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0525.tlg001.perseus-eng1:2.1.3 2.1.3].</ref> In a fragment of [[Pindar]], he instead founds the games (in honour of Melicertes) upon the instructions of a group of nymphs.<ref>Gantz, p. 176; [[Pindar]], fr. 6.5 (1) Snell-Maehler (Maehler, p. 3).</ref>

=== Conflict with Salmoneus ===
Sisyphus and his brother [[Salmoneus]] were known to hate each other, and Sisyphus consulted the [[Pythia|Oracle of Delphi]] on just how to kill Salmoneus without incurring any severe consequences for himself. From [[Homer]] onward, Sisyphus was famed as the craftiest of men. He seduced Salmoneus's daughter [[Tyro]] in one of his plots to kill Salmoneus, only for Tyro to slay their children when she discovered that Sisyphus was planning on using them to eventually dethrone her father.

=== Cheating death ===
Sisyphus betrayed one of Zeus's secrets by revealing the whereabouts of the [[Asopides|Asopid]] [[Aegina (mythology)|Aegina]] to her father, the river god [[Asopus]], in return for causing a spring to flow on the Corinthian [[acropolis]].<ref name=":0" />

Zeus ordered [[Thanatos]] to chain Sisyphus in [[Tartarus]]. Sisyphus was curious as to why [[Charon]], whose job it was to guide souls to the underworld, had not appeared on this occasion. Sisyphus slyly asked Thanatos to demonstrate how the chains worked. As Thanatos was granting him his wish, Sisyphus seized the opportunity and trapped Thanatos in the chains instead. Once Thanatos was bound by the strong chains, no one died on Earth, causing an uproar. [[Ares]], the god of war, became annoyed that his battles had lost their fun because his opponents would not die. The exasperated Ares intervened, freeing Thanatos, enabling deaths to happen again and turned Sisyphus over to him.{{sfn|Morford|Lenardon|1999|p=491}}

In some versions, [[Hades]] was sent to chain Sisyphus and was chained himself. As long as Hades was trapped, nobody could die. Consequently, sacrifices could not be made to the gods, and those that were old and sick were suffering. The gods finally threatened to make life so miserable for Sisyphus that he would wish he were dead. He then had no choice but to release Hades.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.mlahanas.de/Greeks/Death.htm |title=Ancient Greeks: Is death necessary and can death actually harm us? |publisher= | website = Mlahanas.de |access-date=2014-02-19 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140702053105/http://mlahanas.de/Greeks/Death.htm |archive-date=2 July 2014}}</ref>

Before Sisyphus died, he had told his wife to throw his naked corpse into the middle of the public square (purportedly as a test of his wife's love for him). This caused Sisyphus to end up on the shores of the river [[Styx]] when he was brought to the [[Greek underworld|underworld]]. Complaining to [[Persephone]] that this was a sign of his wife's disrespect for him, Sisyphus persuaded her to allow him to return to the [[Upper World (Greek)|upper world]]. Once back in Ephyra, the spirit of Sisyphus scolded his wife for not burying his body and giving it a proper funeral as a loving wife should. When Sisyphus refused to return to the underworld, he was forcibly dragged back there by [[Hermes]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.mythweb.com/encyc/entries/sisyphus.html|title=Encyclopedia of Greek Mythology: Sisyphus| website= mythweb.com|access-date= 2019-07-01|archive-date=29 March 2021| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210329222436/http://www.mythweb.com/encyc/entries/sisyphus.html|url-status= dead}}</ref><!-- (This version is alluded to by [[Albert Camus|Camus]] without citation and also appears in [[Roberto Bolaño]]'s novel ''2666'', in a context that indicates it may have been made up rather than traditional.) --><ref>{{Cite web |url= https://www.greekmythology.com/Myths/Mortals/Sisyphus/sisyphus.html|title=Sisyphus|website=www.greekmythology.com|access-date=30 April 2020| archive-date=11 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200411171541/https://www.greekmythology.com/Myths/Mortals/Sisyphus/sisyphus.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In another version of the myth, Persephone was tricked by Sisyphus that he had been conducted to Tartarus by mistake, and so she ordered that he be released.{{sfn|Evslin|2006|p=209-210}}

In ''[[Philoctetes (Sophocles play)|Philoctetes]]'' by [[Sophocles]], there is a reference to the father of Odysseus (rumoured to have been Sisyphus, and not [[Laertes (father of Odysseus)|Laërtes]], whom we know as the father in the ''[[Odyssey]]'') upon having returned from the dead.{{clarify|date=March 2022}} [[Euripides]], in ''[[Cyclops (play)|Cyclops]]'', also identified Sisyphus as Odysseus's father.

=== Punishment in the underworld ===
As a punishment for his crimes, Hades made Sisyphus roll a huge boulder endlessly up a steep hill in [[Tartarus]].<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0012.tlg002.perseus-eng2:11.13-11.13 |title=Homeros, Odyssey, 11.13 |publisher=Perseus Digital Library |access-date=2014-10-09 |archive-date=23 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230323153146/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0012.tlg002.perseus-eng2:11.13-11.13 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Odyssey, xi. 593">Homer, ''Odyssey'' 11.593</ref> The maddening nature of the punishment was reserved for Sisyphus due to his [[hubris]]tic belief that his cleverness surpassed that of Zeus himself. Hades accordingly displayed his own cleverness by enchanting the boulder into rolling away from Sisyphus before he reached the top which ended up consigning Sisyphus to an eternity of useless efforts and unending frustration. Thus, pointless or interminable activities are sometimes described as "Sisyphean". Sisyphus was a common subject for ancient writers and was depicted by the painter [[Polygnotus]] on the walls of the [[Lesche]] at [[Delphi]].<ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], 10.31</ref>

==Interpretations==
[[File:Johann-Vogel-Meditationes-emblematicae-de-restaurata-pace-Germaniae MGG 1020.tif|thumb|upright=1.0|alt=Black and white etching of Sisyphus by Johann Vogel |Sisyphus as a symbol for continuing a senseless war. [[Johann Vogel (poet)|Johann Vogel]]: ''Meditationes emblematicae de restaurata pace Germaniae'', 1649]]
According to the [[solar theory]], King Sisyphus is the disk of the sun that rises every day in the east and then sinks into the west.<ref name="eb1911">{{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Sisyphus |volume=25 |page=161}}</ref> Other scholars regard him as a personification of waves rising and falling, or of the treacherous sea.<ref name="eb1911"/> The 1st-century BC [[Epicureanism|Epicurean]] philosopher [[Lucretius]] interprets the myth of Sisyphus as personifying politicians aspiring for political office who are constantly defeated, with the quest for power, in itself an "empty thing", being likened to rolling the boulder up the hill.<ref>''[[De Rerum Natura]]'' III</ref> [[Friedrich Welcker]] suggested that he symbolises the vain struggle of man in the pursuit of knowledge, and [[Salomon Reinach]]<ref>''Revue archéologique'', 1904</ref> that his punishment is based on a picture in which Sisyphus was represented rolling a huge stone [[Acrocorinthus]], symbolic of the labour and skill involved in the building of the Sisypheum. [[Albert Camus]], in his 1942 essay ''[[The Myth of Sisyphus]]'', saw Sisyphus as personifying the absurdity of human life, but Camus concludes "one must imagine Sisyphus happy" as "The struggle itself towards the heights is enough to fill a man's heart."  In his 1994 ''The Body of Myth'', [[J. Nigro Sansonese]],<ref>[[J. Nigro Sansonese|Sansonese, J. Nigro]]. ''The Body of Myth''. Rochester, 1994, pp. 45–52. {{ISBN|0-89281-409-8}}</ref> building on the work of [[Georges Dumézil]], speculates that the origin of the name "Sisyphus" is onomatopoetic of the continual back-and-forth, susurrant sound ("siss phuss") made by the breath in the nasal passages, situating the mythology of Sisyphus in a far larger context of archaic (see [[Proto-Indo-European religion]]) trance-inducing techniques related to breath control. The repetitive inhalation–exhalation cycle is described esoterically in the myth as an up–down motion of Sisyphus and his boulder on a hill.

In experiments that test how workers respond when the meaning of their task is diminished, the test condition is referred to as the Sisyphusian condition. The two main conclusions of the experiment are that people work harder when their work seems more meaningful, and that people underestimate the relationship between meaning and motivation.<ref>{{cite book|last=Ariely|first=Dan|title=The Upside of Irrationality|year=2010|isbn=978-0-06-199503-3}}</ref>

===Literary interpretations===
[[File:Punishment sisyph.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|alt=Painting of Sisyphus by Titian |''[[Sisyphus (Titian)|Sisyphus]]'' (1548–49) by [[Titian]], [[Prado Museum]], Madrid, Spain]]
* [[Homer]] describes Sisyphus in both Book VI of the ''[[Iliad]]'' and Book XI of the ''[[Odyssey]]''.<ref name="Homer Iliad VI 152ff" /><ref name="Odyssey, xi. 593" />
* [[Ovid]], the Roman poet, makes reference to Sisyphus in the story of [[Orpheus and Eurydice]]. When Orpheus descends and confronts Hades and Persephone, he sings a song so that they will grant his wish to bring Eurydice back from the dead. After this song is sung, Ovid shows how moving it was by noting that Sisyphus, emotionally affected for just a moment, stops his eternal task and sits on his rock, the Latin wording being ''inque tuo sedisti, Sisyphe, saxo'' ("and you sat, Sisyphus, on your rock").<ref>Ovid. ''Metamorphoses'', 10.44.</ref>
* In [[Plato]]'s ''[[Apology (Plato)|Apology]]'', Socrates looks forward to the after-life where he can meet figures such as Sisyphus, who think themselves wise, so that he can question them and find who is wise and who "thinks he is when he is not."<ref>Apology, 41c</ref>
* [[Albert Camus]], the [[French Algeria|French]] [[absurdism|absurdist]], wrote an essay entitled ''[[The Myth of Sisyphus]]'', in which he elevates Sisyphus to the status of absurd hero.
* [[Franz Kafka]] repeatedly referred to Sisyphus as a bachelor; [[Kafkaesque]] for him were those qualities that brought out the Sisyphus-like qualities in himself. According to Frederick Karl: "The man who struggled to reach the heights only to be thrown down to the depths embodied all of Kafka's aspirations; and he remained himself, alone, solitary."<ref>[[Frederick R. Karl|Karl, Frederick]]. ''Franz Kafka: Representative Man.'' New York: International Publishing Corporation, 1991. p. 2</ref>
* The philosopher [[Richard Taylor (philosopher)|Richard Taylor]] uses the myth of Sisyphus as a representation of a life made meaningless because it consists of bare repetition.<ref>Taylor, Richard. "Time and Life's Meaning." ''Review of Metaphysics'' 40 (June 1987): 675–686.</ref>
* [[Wolfgang Mieder]] has collected cartoons that build on the image of Sisyphus, many of them [[editorial cartoons]].<ref>Wolfgang Mieder. 2013. Neues von Sisyphus: Sprichtwortliche Mythen der Antike in moderner Literatur, Medien und Karikaturen. Vienna: Praesens.</ref>
* [[Hollis Robbins]], reading Ovid against Camus, proposes that the punishment was not a punishment but a recognition and making legible of Sisyphus's essential nature: his compulsion to push against the rules.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Robbins |first1=Hollis |title=Sisyphus, Unbothered |url=https://hollisrobbinsanecdotal.substack.com/p/sisyphus-unbothered |website=Anecdotal Value |publisher=Substack |access-date=27 March 2025}}</ref>

==See also==
* ''[[Sisyphus: The Myth]]'', a 2021 South Korean TV series, which uses the myth as a symbol for its theme.
* [[Sisyphus cooling]], a cooling technique named after the Sisyphus myth
* ''[[Syzyfowe prace]]'', a novel by [[Stefan Żeromski]]
* Comparable characters:
** [[Naranath Bhranthan]], a willing boulder pusher in Indian folklore
** [[Jan Tregeagle]], a Cornish magistrate who must empty [[Dozmary Pool]] with a limpet shell or weave sand into rope at [[Gwenor Cove]]
** [[Tantalus]], who was similarly punished with a neverending toil
** [[Wu Gang]] – also tasked with the impossible: to fell a self-regenerating tree on the Moon

==Notes==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== References ==
{{refbegin|2|indent=yes}}
*[[Bibliotheca (Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], ''The Library'' with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S. in 2 Volumes, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0022 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.] [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0021 Greek text available from the same website].
*{{cite book|last=Evslin|first=Bernard|title=Gods, Demigods and Demons: A Handbook of Greek Mythology|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ljjly9Zes9AC|year=2006|publisher=Bloomsbury Academic|isbn=978-1-84511-321-6|access-date=21 October 2020}}
* [[Timothy Gantz|Gantz, Timothy]], ''Early Greek Myth: A Guide to Literary and Artistic Sources'', Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996, Two volumes: {{ISBN|978-0-8018-5360-9}} (Vol. 1), {{ISBN|978-0-8018-5362-3}} (Vol. 2).
* Hard, Robin, ''The Routledge Handbook of Greek Mythology: Based on H.J. Rose's "Handbook of Greek Mythology"'', Psychology Press, 2004. {{ISBN|978-0-415-18636-0}}. [https://books.google.com/books?id=r1Y3xZWVlnIC&printsec=frontcover Google Books].
*[[Homer]], [[Iliad|''The Iliad'']] with an English Translation by A.T. Murray, PhD in two volumes. Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1924. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0134 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.]
*[[Homer]]. ''Homeri Opera'' in five volumes. Oxford, Oxford University Press. 1920. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0133 Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library].
*[[Homer]], [[Odyssey|''The Odyssey'']] with an English Translation by A.T. Murray, Ph.D. in two volumes. Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1919. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0136 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.] [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0135 Greek text available from the same website].
* [[Herwig Maehler|Maehler, Herwig]], ''Pindarus Carmina cum fragmentis. Pars II: Fragmenta. Indices'', [[Bibliotheca Teubneriana]], Munich and Leipzig, K. G. Saur Verlag, 1989. {{ISBN|3-598-71586-2}}.
*{{cite book|last1=Morford|first1=Mark P. O.|last2=Lenardon|first2=Robert J.|title=Classical Mythology|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ecGXcMRAPXcC&pg=PA491|year=1999|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-514338-6|access-date=21 October 2020}}
*[[Ovid]], ''Metamorphoses'' translated by Brookes More (1859–1942). Boston, Cornhill Publishing Co. 1922. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0028 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.]
*[[Ovid]], ''Metamorphoses.'' Hugo Magnus. Gotha (Germany). Friedr. Andr. Perthes. 1892. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.02.0029 Latin text available at the Perseus Digital Library].
*[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], ''Description of Greece'' with an English Translation by W.H.S. Jones, Litt.D., and H.A. Ormerod, M.A., in 4 Volumes. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1918. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.+1.1.1 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library]
*[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], ''Graeciae Descriptio.'' ''3 vols''. Leipzig, Teubner. 1903. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0159 Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library].
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{wiktionary|Sisyphean}}
{{commons category}}
{{wikiquote}}
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle=Sisyphus|short=x}}
* {{Cite NIE|wstitle=Sisyphus|short=x}}

{{Rulers of Corinth}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Mythological tricksters]]
[[Category:Princes in Greek mythology]]
[[Category:Mythological city founders]]
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[[Category:Katabasis in classical mythology]]
[[Category:Condemned souls in Tartarus]]
[[Category:Aeolides]]
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[[Category:Mythological Thessalians]]
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[[Category:Deeds of Zeus]]
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