The Story of Sisyphus

SisyphusIn Greek mythology, Sisyphus was the son of Aeolus, the king of Thessaly, and Enarete. He was the Greek version of a street thug who made a sport out of robbing and murdering travelers. He even betrayed the secrets of the gods, which in never a good thing. He was so mean that he chained the god of death, Thanatos, so the he could not reach the underworld. Finally, Hades himself intervened and Sisyphus was severely punished.

His punishment was the stuff of legends. In the realm of the dead, he was forced to roll a block of stone up a steep hill and, when he reached the top, the stone tumbled back down. Then the whole process started over again for all eternity. His punishment was depicted on many Greek vases. He is represented as a naked man, or wearing a fur over his shoulders, pushing a boulder. I have always thought that his plight is reminiscent of our daily struggle against the bureaucracies in which we all work.

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