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Sisyphus, son of King Aeolus, was a deceitful and arrogant figure in Greek mythology who was punished by the gods to roll a boulder up a hill only to have it roll back down for eternity. Some believe this story explains the rising and setting of the sun. Sisyphus has been depicted in artwork and literature, including a painting by Titian. He is also cited as the possible father of Odysseus.
In Greek mythology, Sisyphus was the son of King Aeolus. Aeolus ruled Thessaly and Enarete and founded Ephyra, also known as Corinth. Some sources cite Sisyphus as the father of Odysseus. According to these sources, Anticlea, the mother of Odysseus, became pregnant with Sisyphus’ child before marrying Laertes, who is credited as the father of Odysseus in many texts on mythology and in many myths themselves. He is credited with founding the Isthmian games to honor Melicertes.
Sisyphus, however, was not looked upon favorably by his contemporaries. He is known to be deceitful and crafty. A cunning fellow, he managed to seize his brother’s throne and seduce his niece. He got into trouble, however, when he revealed a number of secrets to Zeus. Throughout Greek mythology, invoking the wrath of Zeus leads to many types of punishment, most of which cause pain and suffering. Sisyphus also displayed great arrogance towards Zeus, believing he could outwit the great god of all gods.
For his transgressions, the gods assigned Sisyphus a task that would stall and frustrate him down the ages. He was told to roll a large rock up a steep hill. However, the rock was enchanted so that it would always roll all the way down as it was about to reach the apex of the hill. According to Greek myth, Sisyphus is still assigned this frustrating task. He will roll the boulder up the hill only to have it roll back down for eternity. The story of Sisyphus is mentioned in Homer’s Odyssey.
Some believe that the story of Sisyphus was used to explain the rising and setting of the sun, i.e. that constant work represented the daily solar movements. In this interpretation of Sisyphus, his rock represents the sun, which rises just atop the sky each day only to descend again and submit to darkness before rising again.
Like many others in the cast of characters that make up Greek mythology, Sysiphus has been invoked many times in artwork and literature. The great 16th-century Venetian painter Tiziano Vecelli, generally known simply as “Titian,” dedicated an entire canvas to Sisyphus in the 16th century. In Titian’s painting, Sisyphus wears a white loincloth and an earth-colored sash around his waist. Instead of rolling the rock, he’s struggling with his weight on his shoulders.
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