The cunning king of Corinth who cheated death twice. In the Underworld he must roll a boulder uphill forever, only to watch it roll back.
From Corinth. Today: Ancient Corinth, Greece.
Strength 6/10 · Wisdom 9/10 · Courage 6/10 · Divinity 1/10 · Fame 8/10
The story
Clever and deceitful king of Corinth. When Death came for him, he chained Death up, so no one could die until Ares freed him. Dying at last, he told his wife not to bury him, then persuaded Hades to let him go back to punish her, and stayed above ground until old age.
How it ends
In the Underworld he must roll a huge boulder up a hill forever. Every time he nears the top, it rolls back down.
Still with us today
A “Sisyphean” task is endless and futile. Albert Camus wrote The Myth of Sisyphus, imagining him happy.
Family
The sources do not agree on, or do not name, Sisyphus’s family.
Appears in
The Underworld, Other famous tales
Read about them in the Library
- Odyssey 11: The land of the dead
- Library of Apollodorus 5: Phrixus, the Golden Fleece and the Argonauts
Ancient sources
- Homer, Odyssey
- Apollodorus, The Library