Sisyphus was also said to have married Tyro the daughter of Salmoneus, and hence Sisyphus’ niece. The timing also makes it more likely that rather than marrying Anticlia, Sisyphus simply abducted her to have his way with her. Sisyphus was closely associated with three women, who were called at some time his wives.Īnticlia was one such woman, but if she wed Sisyphus then her time in Corinth must have been brief, for she was soon in the company of Laertes, and later gave birth to Odysseus, but the timing of the birth of Odysseus gave rise to the suggestion that it was Sisyphus who was the father of Odysseus, not Laertes. In retribution for the theft, it was said that Sisyphus abducted and raped Anticlia, the daughter of Autolycus, although some say that Anticlia would become Sisyphus’ wife. Despite the cattle having changed their colourings, by looking at the hooves, Sisyphus was able to identify his own cattle. Sisyphus then used his cleverness, for into the hooves of his cattle he cut an identifying mark, and so they next time that cattle disappeared, Sisyphus with his army stormed onto the land of Autolycus. Sisyphus was of course suspicious when the size of his own herd was diminishing, whilst Autolycus’ herd was growing in size. Thus, Autolycus would steal away cattle from Sisyphus’ herd, but would then change their colours, making it impossible to identify with certainty Sisyphus’ cattle. Autolycus was a neighbour of Sisyphus, and also a cattle rustler.Īutolycus’ father, Hermes, had given his son the ability to change the colour of things, so he was able to change things from black to white, and other colours. Only every time Sisyphus, by the greatest of exertion and toil, attained the summit, the darn thing rolled back down again.The cleverness and cruelness of Sisyphus was displayed in his dealing with Autolycus, the legendary thief. For his assignment was to roll a great boulder to the top of a hill. For a crime against the gods - the specifics of which are variously reported - he was condemned to an eternity at hard labor. Eventually he was hauled down to Hades, where his indiscretions caught up with him. But even this paramount trickster could only postpone the inevitable. Kindly Persephone assented, and Sisyphus made his way back to the sunshine, where he promptly forgot all about funerals and such drab affairs and lived on in dissipation for another good stretch of time. Surely her highness could see that Sisyphus must be given leave to journey back topside and put things right.

What's more, as an unburied corpse he had no business on the far side of the river Styx at all - his wife hadn't placed a coin under his tongue to secure passage with Charon the ferryman. He simply told his wife not to bury him and then complained to Persephone, Queen of the Dead, that he had not been accorded the proper funeral honors. But the wily one had another trick up his sleeve. Finally Hades was released and Sisyphus was ordered summarily to report to the Underworld for his eternal assignment. A soldier might be chopped to bits in battle and still show up at camp for dinner. Hades had brought along a pair of handcuffs, a comparative novelty, and Sisyphus expressed such an interest that Hades was persuaded to demonstrate their use - on himself.Īnd so it came about that the high lord of the Underworld was kept locked up in a closet at Sisyphus's house for many a day, a circumstance which put the great chain of being seriously out of whack. His greatest triumph came at the end of his life, when the god Hades came to claim him personally for the kingdom of the dead. He was notorious as the most cunning knave on earth. Sisyphus was founder and king of Corinth, or Ephyra as it was called in those days. Sinner condemned in Tartarus to an eternity of rolling a boulder uphill then watching it roll back down again. Encyclopedia of Greek Mythology: Sisyphus Search.

Sisyphus mythology