Sisyphus.
The stone that never stays
Sisyphus: Greek Myth, the Boulder and Eternal Punishmentis the king condemned to push a great stone uphill only to watch it roll back. The image of effort without completion survives in , while other traditions explain his punishment through acts of extraordinary cunning.
More than a myth.
Sisyphus in the Odyssey
sees laboring in the underworld, pushing a huge stone with hands and feet. Just before he can secure it at the summit, it rolls down again. describes the exertion and frustration but does not give a full explanation of the crime in that scene. The punishment is unforgettable even without an attached biography.
Why Sisyphus is punished
Other traditions connect him with exposing ’s abduction of Aegina and with schemes that interrupt or evade death. The identifies him as a king of Corinth and ties his revelation to a bargain for water. A fragment of Alcaeus recalls his attempt to master Death and a second crossing of Acheron. These traditions should be attributed to their witnesses rather than described as events narrates.
What the endless task represents
The boulder has become an image for work that can never reach completion. That interpretation follows the structure of the punishment, but later philosophical readings belong to their own authors and periods. The ancient figure is a particular mythic king; a modern use of the adjective Sisyphean does not summarize every source about him.
Questions about Sisyphus
What is Sisyphus’s punishment?
He must push a boulder uphill, but it rolls down whenever the task approaches completion, requiring him to begin again.
Does Homer explain why Sisyphus is punished?
The ’s underworld scene describes the labor rather than providing its full cause. Other ancient accounts supply different parts of the king’s offense and career.
It’s a family affair.
Sisyphus
Cunning & endless underworld laborNo children represented in this edition.
The stories of Sisyphus.
Continue with the ancient accounts.
This story collection does not yet include a full retelling centered on Sisyphus. Explore the cited sources below and the connected profiles for more of the surviving accounts.
Ancient voices.
Enduring stories.
Myths have many tellings. These are the ancient works behind this profile, linked to freely available English translations.
Odyssey
Book 11.593–600
Library
Book 1.9.3 · Sisyphus
Fragment 38a
Sisyphus’s attempt to master Death; collected passage