Sisyphus in Greek Mythology

In Greek mythology Sisyphus is one of the most famous residents of Hades, the Underworld. Punished by the gods of Mount Olympus, Sisyphus is compelled to undertake the impossible task of rolling a boulder uphill.

In life Sisyphus was King of Ephyra, a city that would become known as Corinth, and was son of the king of Thessaly, Aeolus. Extremely clever, Sisyphus was equally cruel, killing many of the guests who visited his palace.

Sisyphus Pushing His Stone - Bernard Picart (1673–1733) - PD-art-100

The most famous tale of the life of Sisyphus occurs when his neighbour, Autolycus, son of Hermes, stole some of his cattle. Maia had provided Autolycus with the ability to change the appearance of the cattle, and so Sisyphus could not prove the continued theft of his cattle. Sisyphus though came up with the plan to identify his cattle by burning his name into the hooves of his cattle. With the next theft Sisyphus stormed his neighbour’s land and identified his cattle, although Autolycus continued to pronounce his innocence. In revenge Sisyphus kidnapped Autolycus’ daughter, Anticlia, to make her his wife.

Sisyphus was said to have been married three times. Firstly to Anticlia, the daughter of Autolycus, with whom, some sources claim, that Sisyphus is the father of Odysseus. He was also married to Merope, one of the Pleiades, and Tyro. His descendents included the famous hero, Bellerophon.
It is though not the life of Sisyphus that has immortalised the Greek king, but rather events surrounding his death. Being a cruel king might eventually have brought him to the notice of the gods, but annoying them was likely to bring forth their anger a lot more quickly. Sisyphus believed that his cleverness gave him the right to keep track of the movement and activities of the gods.
Thus meant that when Zeus abducted Aegina, and took her away when transformed as an eagle, Sisyphus informed Aegina’s father, the river god, Asopus, of the events that had passed. Zeus of course didn’t like a mortal interfering in his affairs, and decreed that the life of Sisyphus was now forfeit.

Thanatos, Death, was dispatched to collect the king. In some sources Thanatos is replaced by Hades. At this point the cleverness and guile of Sisyphus kicked in. Thanatos had brought chains with him to bind the king for his trip into the Underworld, Sisyphus though tricked death into showing how the chains worked by getting death to put them on. Thanatos was thus trapped, whilst Sisyphus could continue as king.

With death trapped though no-one on earth could die something which annoyed Ares, the god of war, no end. Battles without death were without point. Ares himself came to free Thanatos, and passed Sisyphus over into death’s care. Again in some sources, Ares is replaced by Hades, annoyed at the lack of souls making their way into his domain.

Sisyphus though was still not ready to pass into the Underworld, and had told his wife that on his death he should not be buried. When Thanatos brought the king into Hades he had bypassed the normal passage route over the River Styx, with Charon acting as ferryman. Thus it was that Sisyphus managed to convince Persephone, Hades’ wife, that he did not belong in the Underworld, and required a proper burial. Persephone agreed to allow him to go back to the surface in order that he should be buried properly, although of course Sisyphus had no intention of returning to the Underworld once free.

Sisyphus - Max Klinger (1857–1920) - PD-art-100

Sisyphus wandered once again throughout his domain, but gods could not be avoided for ever, and Zeus dispatched Hermes to forcibly return the king into Hades’ hands. With Sisyphus finally in Tartarus, a fitting punishment for his insolence was devised. Sisyphus was condemned to roll a boulder up a hill everyday. The boulder just before reaching the summit of the hill though would roll back down to the bottom of the hill, compelling Sisyphus to start his ordeal once again.

Copyright - First Published 8th April 2011

Keywords- Sisyphus, the myth of Sisyphus, Sisyphus in Greek mythology