#KING SISYPHUS FREE#

Each time he reached the top, however, the boulder rolled back down to the bottom, forcing Sisyphus to start over. The gods told him that if he rolled the stone to the other side they would release him. To escape being crushed, he had to push the boulder uphill. After returning to Corinth, Sisyphus stayed there until his second, and final, death.Īs punishment for tricking the gods, Sisyphus was placed on a hillside in the underworld with a heavy boulder above him. While in the underworld, he persuaded Persephone (pronounced per-SEF-uh-nee), the goddess of the underworld, to let him go back to earth long enough to arrange a proper funeral, since his wife was clearly not following tradition. Sisyphus called out to his wife not to offer the customary sacrifices usually made when someone dies, and she followed his orders.

#KING SISYPHUS FREE#

Because Thanatos was shackled and could not perform his duties, for several days no one on earth died.Īres (pronounced AIR-eez), the god of war, went to free death and take Sisyphus to Tartarus (pronounced TAR-tur-uhs), a gloomy pit at the bottom of the underworld. About to be shackled, the clever Sisyphus managed to trick Thanatos into trying out the shackles first and trapped the god in his place. Furious, Zeus sent Thanatos (pronounced THAN-uh-tohs), the god of death, to take Sisyphus to Hades (pronounced HAY-deez), the ruler of the land of the dead. He betrayed Zeus, however, when he revealed the location to the nymph's father in exchange for a spring of pure water. In another myth, Sisyphus saw the god Zeus (pronounced ZOOS) kidnap a river nymph, or female nature deity, and he promised to keep the hiding place secret. On one occasion, he happened to steal Sisyphus's cattle Sisyphus outwitted him, however, by placing a mark on the cattle's hooves so he could follow the hoofprints to the stolen animals. Autolycus stole cattle by changing their color so they could not be identified. One story about Sisyphus involves Autolycus (pronounced aw-TOL-i-kuhs), a clever thief. He was one of the sons of King Aeolus (pronounced EE-uh-luhs) of Thessaly (pronounced THESS-uh-lee).

Although stories about Sisyphus differ somewhat in their details, he is usually referred to as the king of Corinth. In Greek mythology, Sisyphus was famous for two things: his cleverness during life and the punishment he suffered after death. Son of King Aeolus and Enarete Character Overview

King sisyphus