In Greek mythology, Sisyphus depicts a human type who opposes God and rebels against divine laws by trying to achieve immortality, which is a characteristic unique to the gods.
The wrath, punishments, and sufferings of people who angered the gods are one of the most frequent themes in Greek mythology. One of the people who suffered the wrath of the gods was Sisyphus, the first king of Ephesus, known as Corinth, in Greece today. Sisyphus is notorious for his sharp wit and cunning, a wise and vigilant king who, on the other hand, can't keep his wisdom in his thuggery.
In Homer's Odyssey, one of the people who is informed about the fate of the dead in Hades, the Land of the Dead, is Sisyphus. According to the narrative, Sisyphus had to carry a huge stone mass up a steep hill. Just as it reaches the top of the rock, it becomes unable to bear the weight of the rock, and the rock rolls down the hill and reaches the bottom quickly. Why he was punished in this way is not mentioned in the Odyssey, but the situation of Sisyphus is described as follows:
There are some narratives about the reasons for Sisyphus's punishment in different sources. One of them is the work of Geographer Pausanias, Periegesis tes Hellados (Description of Greece). While introducing Corinth in his work, Pausanias mentions the temple of Aphrodite and a fountain located behind this temple and states that it was gifted to Sisyphus by Asopus. The reason for this gift is that Agina, the daughter of the river god Asopus, who was kidnapped to an island by Zeus, who came in the form of a giant eagle, was saved as a result of the help of Sisyphus. According to the narrative, Sisyphus, who witnessed this abduction, tells Asopus what he knows about the event in return for providing a water source to Korent, and ensuring that his daughter is saved. As a result, however, Sisyphus ended up in the deepest part of Hades, incurring the wrath of Zeus, whose short temper was as legendary as his passion for escaping with virgins.
Zeus wanted Sisyphus to be sent to Tartarus, where those who committed great sins and were sentenced to eternal punishment while on earth were punished for revealing divine secrets. Tanatos, the personification of death, is ordered to take Sisyphus to the underworld. Sisyphus, who wants Tanatos, who came to catch him, to show him how to use the handcuffs he brought with him, traps Tanatos and imprisons him thanks to his sharp intelligence and cunning. Thus, the event of death on earth would not occur, death was suspended for a while by Sisyphus. Disturbed by the situation, the gods appoint Ares, the god of war. Ares rescues Tanatos and together they deliver Sisyphus to Hades. Before the cunning Sisyphus goes to the nether world, he specifically advises his wife Merope not to hold a traditional burial for him. No burial is done on this will.
Finally, Sisyphus, who arrives at Hades' place, complains about his situation there and demands to be sent back to earth for a few days, both to organize a customary funeral for him and to punish his wife for such negligence. In the words of the Greek poet Teognis of Megara, he is granted a grace that "no mortal can have", and Sisyphus is sent back to earth to punish his rough widow. In this way, Sisyphus deceived death a second time. Sisyphus, who refuses to return, enjoys the earth for many years. Sisyphus, who has reached an advanced age after living for years, is once again knocked on the door by death.
The Latin writer Higinus talks about another event that caused Sisyphus to be sentenced to this punishment in his work called Fabulae. According to Fabulae, after the death of their father, King Aeolus, his brother Salmoneus usurped the throne of the kingdom of Thessaly, which was the right of Sisyphus, and a fierce enmity arose between the two brothers. As a prophecy, when it is announced that the children who will be born as a result of Salmoneus' sleeping with his daughter will avenge him, Sisyphus seduces his nephew Tiro and becomes with him, and twin boys are born. Later, Tiro, who is aware of the prophecy, murders both of his children. After this narrative, Hyginus relates the fate of Sisyphus with these words: "It is said that he now rolls a stone from the nether world with his shoulders to the top of the mountain because of his sin against God, but when he reaches the summit, the stone rolls down again."
With Sisyphus, the human type is depicted both opposing Zeus, that is, God, by revealing divine secrets and rebelling against divine laws by denying death and trying to achieve immortality, which is a special feature of the gods. It is also often seen as a poignant symbol of the stupidity of those who try to disregard the natural order of things and avoid humanity's sad but inevitable mortality. In fact, Sisyphus has no intention of becoming a god, replacing god, or equating himself with god. However, his condition reflects the "desire for immortality" inherent in the basic characteristic of the human condition. In antiquity, just as it does today, the myth of Sisyphus served as a cautionary tale for the dire consequences of offending the gods. Sisyphus is an exemplary hero who was presented to the ancient Greeks as an example that should never be imitated, with his refusal to accept mortality, his disobedience to fate, the determinant of fate, and the divine will, the creator of death.
Two classical emphases on the character of Sisyphus draw attention. One of them is that Sisyphus was sentenced to eternal punishment as a great sinner. The other is about overcoming death thanks to his skills such as intelligence, cunning, and persuasion. Wherever the emphasis is placed, whatever the differences between them - and often contradictory - versions of the Sisyphus story with added embellishments over time, the only point on which all sources agree is that Sisyphus was sentenced to eternal punishment.
Sisyphus, like many others, inspired the French writer and thinker Albert Camus with his life story. In the Myth of Sisyphus, which he wrote in the middle of World War II, Camus described the meaningless effort of modern man in his monotonous life through the myth of Sisyphus. He presents the Myth of Sisyphus as an allegory that tries to justify that life is meaningless and absurd. And it says: "Man has to overcome life despite its meaninglessness and all its pressures." For Camus, Sisyphus is the poster child for Absurdism, because he values life more than death and wants to enjoy his existence as much as possible, but is instead thwarted in his goals by being condemned to performing a repetitive meaningless task.