The Myth of Sisyphus

Introduction

• Sisyphus: Cunning king of ancient Corinth
• Ancestry: Direct descendant of Prometheus
• Characterization: Smart but not wise

The Kidnapping of Aegina

• Aegina: Young and beautiful daughter of Aesopus, the river god
• Zeus: Kidnapped Aegina
• Sisyphus' Opportunity: Sees a chance to benefit his city, which suffers from a water shortage
• Deal with Aesopus:
  • Offers information about Aegina in exchange for a spring of water
  • Aesopus agrees, creating a spring of pure mineral water for Corinth

Zeus' Wrath

• Revenge: Zeus orders Thanatos (Death) to kill Sisyphus
• Encounter with Thanatos: Sisyphus cleverly flatters Death, offering him gifts that are actually shackles
• Outcome: Sisyphus imprisons Thanatos, preventing deaths in the kingdom

Chaos in the Underworld

• Effect on Hades:
  • No new souls arriving in the underworld
  • Charon, the ferryman, has no passengers
  • Ares, the god of war, is frustrated as wars no longer result in deaths
• Ares' Intervention: Ares breaks Thanatos free

Sisyphus' Return to Death

• Proactive Strategy: Instructs his wife not to perform funeral rites if he dies early
• Surrendering to Thanatos: Voluntarily submits to death, knowing it is inevitable
• Journey to Hades: Arrives at the underworld and faces Hades

Plea to Hades

• Sisyphus' Speech:
  • Acknowledges his wrongs and pleads for a chance to enact revenge on his wife
  • Requests to return to the living for one day
• Hades' Permission: Allows Sisyphus to return but insists he must come back by nightfall

Deceit and Punishment

• Return to Corinth: Sisyphus deceives Hades and does not return
• Final Fate: Eventually faces death again and cannot escape
• Eternal Punishment: Sent to Tartarus to roll a heavy boulder up a hill, which perpetually rolls back down
• Significance: Represents endless struggle and futility of effort

Conclusion

• Themes:
  • The consequences of cunning and deceit
  • The nature of punishment and eternal struggle in life and death
  • Sisyphus as a symbol of human perseverance and the absurdity of existence.