Sisyphus, Myth of

Sisyphus is a character in ancient Greek mythology who defied death and then was condemned to an eternity of performing a repetitive, meaningless task. The myth exemplifies the concept of eternal [Page 1165]recurrence, the notion that time in the universe is cyclical rather than linear, and that the universe recurs in the same form an infinite number of times. The myth of Sisyphus also became the foundation of a 20th-century book, The Myth of Sisyphus, and Other Essays, by the 20th-century French writer Albert Camus, about the meaning-lessness and absurdity of life.

According to the Greek myth (partially recounted in Homer's Odyssey), Sisyphus was the founder and first king of Ephyra (Corinth) and the father of Odysseus. He is also credited with founding the Isthmian games in honor of Melicertes, whom he found dead lying on the shore of the Corinthian Isthmus. Legend holds that Sisyphus was a deceitful person and very crafty. He put Death in fetters when he came for Sisyphus, and thereafter no one died. Ares became frustrated because his enemies in battle would not die, so he came, released Death, and sent Sisyphus to Tartarus, a dungeon within Hades. Before Sisyphus died, he told his wife not to offer the normal sacrifice for the dead. The underworld complained that Sisyphus's wife had neglected him, so Sisyphus convinced Persephone to allow him to return and ask his wife to offer the sacrifice. She agreed and allowed Sisyphus to return to Corinth, but then he refused to go back to Hades. Eventually, Hermes took him back to the underworld. As punishment for his misdeeds and trickery (and for betraying Zeus by exposing his sexual misdeeds), Zeus bound Sisyphus to an eternity of frustration, forcing him to forever perform a meaningless task. Zeus forced Sisyphus to push a rock up a steep hill. However, just before he reached the top of the hill, the rock always rolled back down and he had to start over again. Today, people often use the term Sisyphean to describe a pointless or interminable task.

Sisyphus's eternal, repetitive labor serves as an example of the concept of eternal recurrence. According to this philosophy, the universe is cyclical and, over time, recurs upon itself. This was a common philosophy in the ancient world. The scarab in ancient Egypt symbolized recurrent life. This concept also appears in other Greek myths, such as the Demetrian myth of the cyclical, annual return of Persephone from Hades, a myth that explains the seasonal changes. In Western civilization, eternal recurrence lost its prominence with the rise of Christianity; however, philosophers such as Friedrich Nietzsche briefly revived the philosophy in the 19th century.

In 1942, Albert Camus wrote an essay titled Le Mythe de Sisyphe. Based on the myth of Sisyphus, Camus's treatise is a philosophy of the absurd and focuses on humanity's futile search for meaning in an unintelligible world without God or eternity. He concludes that such a life does not require suicide. He compares the life of absurdity with the struggle of Sisyphus to push the rock up a hill. He concludes that Sisyphus is an absurd hero, who has found happiness in his meaningless task. He is truly happy because the futility of his task is beyond doubt; therefore, any human can be content once he or she comes to terms with the absurdity of life.

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