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Sisyphus

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Sisyphus is one of the most discussed and debated of all of the Greek myths. It is a simple tale of eternal punishment.

In Greek mythology, Sisyphus was the King of Corinth1, the son of Aeolus2, King of Thessaly. After enraging Zeus, Sisyphus was condemned to Tartarus, the part of Hades reserved for particularly wicked people. There he was compelled for eternity to roll a stone to the top of a steep hill, but before he could get it to the top, it rolled down again.

Others have written that for betraying the gods in favour of the mortals, Sisyphus was condemned to punishment. He was sent to perform the task of pushing a huge rock along a steep slope. Before he could topple the stone on the other side of the peak of the mountain he could not be free. Each time Sisyphus neared the peak the stone rolled back to the ground leaving him tired and throwing him in despair again and again. In pursuit of the realisation of his own will against the will of the gods Sisyphus is thus still undergoing the perpetual punishment.

1Corinth is a small Greek town in the north west of the narrow Isthmus of Corinth, separating the Gulf of Corinth and the Gulf of Aegina. The modern city of Corinth is about five kilometres from the old city and was partially destroyed by an earthquake in 1928.2Aeolus was the son of Hippotes. He lived on a rocky island where the winds were trapped in caves. He let the winds out as commanded by the gods.

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