(Σίσυφος; Latin Sisyphus)
A. Myth
The only remnant today of the mythical existence of S. is the proverbial ‘Sisyphean’ labour imposed upon him in the Underworld after his death. The first reference to this comes in Odysseus’ tale of his descent into the Underworld, in the course of which he describes in detail the devious tortures devised for three notorious evildoers, Tityus, Tantalus and S., which he witnessed there (Hom. Od. 11,593–600): S., he says, must roll a gigantic boulde…