SISYPHUS CHEATS DEATH

 

                                                                          

 Death is a recurring theme in legends and folklore all round the world. All cultures have tales of great heroes returning from the Underworld or even defying Death itself. These stories remind us to never give in, not even when we face the greatest obstacles.

Sometimes, the protagonist is not a hero and the story has a much darker moral. Le a look at the story of Sisyphus, the man who cheated Death and was punished for it.

                                                                          

 

Sisyphus was the king of Ephyra, nowadays known as Corinth. While he was a good ruler who made Ephyra prosperous, he was also a devious man. He frequently killed his guests, stealing their goods and boasting about it. This was a severe violation of the Law of Hospitality.

When Zeus noticed Sisyphus’ behaviour, he asked his brother Hades to punish him. So Hades sent Thanatos, the personification of death, to kill Sisyphus. But the King of Ephyra was an extremely clever man and found a way to escape his fate.

                                                                          

Thanatos possessed a magical chain capable of binding someone’s soul, preventing them from escaping. When Sisyphus saw the chain, he pretended to be interested and politely asked Death to show him how it worked. This way Sisyphus was able to take Thanatos off-guard, binding him with his own chain and locking him in a trunk.

 For an entire month Thanatos remained imprisoned, so Sisyphus was able to move on with his life. But because Death wasn’t able to fulfill his duty, no one could die anymore. This greatly annoyed Ares, god of war, who thought war was not fun if nobody died. So he searched for Thanatos and freed him.

Knowing he was going to die, Sisyphus asked his wife to throw his corpse into the street after his death. She did so, and gave him a reason to complain. In the Underworld he told Persephone, Hades’ wife, that he didn’t receive a proper burial. Persephone was moved by his words, and allowed him to return to the land of the living for three days. He promised he would return to Hades after arranging his own burial. But of course, he didn’t keep his promise.

                                                                          

Thanatos refused to take care of Sisyphus a second time,  so he was able to live peacefully until his death. When he finally died in his old age, he found Hades and Persephone waiting for him, angry and ready to punish him. He received one of the most iconic punishments of Greek mythology: he had to push an enormous rock up a hill. But every time he approached the top, the rock would fall down, forcing him to start all over again. And this cycle would repeat forever.

The moral of Sisyphus’ story is simple yet dark: there are things we just can’t do, no matter how hard we work. Trying to accomplish them anyway is pointless. Sisyphus tried to avoid Death, something no one can do. And he was punished for his pointless attempt, with an endless and  pointless task,

                                                                         

YURI, 4sc