Summary and Analysis of the Myth of Sisyphus

The Myth of Sisyphus is a classic exposition of the absurdity of life. Written with lucidity, humor, and great seriousness, it describes the moment when a man realizes that nothing in life has meaning and then finds out why this is not tragic, but liberating.

It is a philosophical essay by Albert Camus, published in 1942. It asks whether or not life has meaning, and concludes that it does not. In order to prove this point, Camus examines the Greek myth of Sisyphus. Sisyphus was a mortal king punished for his arrogance by being condemned to roll an immense boulder up a hill forever, only for it to roll back down each time he neared completion. In identifying himself with Sisyphus, Camus argues that if life were to have no intrinsic meaning then our lives would be absurd. He then goes on to provide examples of what he believes are absurd situations that people find themselves in.

No matter how hard he tries, the mythological Sisyphus will always fail in pushing his rock up the hill. The rock will always come back down, crushing him and forcing him to start again. Yet despite his fate, the Greek hero musters enough strength to try again. This is Camus' greatest point: if we can live with meaninglessness and uncertainty, we might actually be happier than if we were certain about everything.

Sisyphus, the poster boy of existentialism, was associated with arduous and pointless tasks because he was condemned to roll a boulder up a hill, only to have the boulder roll back to the bottom just as he was about to complete the task. He was thus condemned to repeat this action forever.

However, there is much more to the story of Sisyphus than this image, so let's take a closer look at the myth of Sisyphus, who he was, and why he was so important to the ancient Greek civilization.

Summary of the myth of Sisyphus

Although he is now best known for rolling a stone up a hill, Sisyphus did a lot before he was condemned to repeat that (literal) uphill struggle. He was the mythical founder of the city-state of Corinth (then called Ephyra) and was considered the successor of Medea - she who was doomed by her relationship with Jason, of Argonaut fame. He was also responsible for the establishment of the Isthmian Games, which were held a year before and a year after the Olympic Games (the second and fourth years of the Olympiad), from about 582 BC (almost two centuries after the first Olympic Games were held).

Sisyphus is credited with fathering Glaucus, Bellerophon, and even—in one version—the crafty Odysseus himself, among others. The story goes that Autolycus stole Sisyphus' herd, but Sisyphus, considered by many to be the cleverest of all men, took the precaution of marking his name on his animals so that he could prove that the stolen herd was his. Autolycus' daughter Anticleia was to be married to Laertes the day after this botched farm heist took place, and Sisyphus, seeking revenge, slipped into Anticleia's bed the night before her wedding and seduced her. As a result, she conceived Odysseus.

But since Autolycus was impressed by Sisyphus' cleverness, he happily gave his daughter to Sisyphus because he wanted to have a cunning and quick-thinking grandson. Odysseus certainly grew up in it, as Homer's Odyssey testifies. So Laertes, in this version of Odysseus' story, was not Odysseus' biological father.

But how is it that Sisyphus was condemned to roll the boulder uphill for all eternity? This too depends on which version of the myth you read.

For example, according to one story, Sisyphus ended up rolling the stone up the hill because he had stolen it from Zeus during one of the god's various acts of abduction involving young and beautiful women. When Zeus left with Aegina, Sisyphus saw him. Aegina's father, Asopus, discovered that Sisyphus was a witness and asked Sisyphus to tell him who had taken his daughter. Sisyphus, ever the cunning man, made a deal with him: he would tell Asopus who had run off with his daughter if Asopus would spring a spring at the citadel of Corinth. Asopus agreed, and Sisyphus dropped Zeus right into it.

Zeus, whose hot temper was as legendary as his penchant for running around with girls, was none too happy to be tricked by Sisyphus like this, so he knocked Sisyphus to the ground with a lightning bolt. Sisyphus, transported to the underworld, was condemned to roll a boulder up a hill for all eternity.

However, Homer tells the story quite differently. Sisyphus' "crime" here was refusing to die when the gods ordered it to. So Zeus sent Thanatos, the spirit of Death, to take the stubborn Sisyphus to the underworld. But Zeus underestimated how cunning Sisyphus was, and Sisyphus was waiting for Thanatos when he arrived, chaining the deadly agent, thereby suspending death throughout the world. While Thanatos was in captivity, no one—including Sisyphus himself—could die.

However, you cannot cheat death forever, and Sisyphus was forced by Zeus to release Thanatos from his chains so that daily life with death could resume.

Unfortunately for Sisyphus, his name was first on the list.

But Sisyphus got out of it again with a trick. He hatched a plan with his wife, telling her that when he was taken to the underworld, she should not observe the burial rites usually accorded to the dead. When Sisyphus arrived before Hades in the underworld, he complained that his wife had refused to honor him when he died, and Hades agreed to let him return and punish his abusive widow. The trick worked and Sisyphus somehow got through life for many more years.

When he finally died, the gods made sure he couldn't cheat his way out of the underworld again by assigning him the endless task he's now so closely associated with: to roll the huge rock uphill forever, only to find—when he reached the top hills—that the rock rolled all the way down and he had to start over.

Analysis of the myth of Sisyphus

Not all Greek myths have a "moral" per se, but if we look at a more complete summary of the story (or stories) of Sisyphus, it is clear that his punishment - rolling the rock endlessly uphill - was devised by the gods. in response to Sisyphus' legendary cunning and cunning. You really can be too smart for your own good: as Sisyphus was.

The story of Sisyphus is so well-known in modern times thanks to Albert Camus, whose essay "The Myth of Sisyphus" (1942) is an important text on the absurdity of modern life (although often described as "existentialist", Camus' essay is actually closer to absurdism). For Camus, Sisyphus is the epitome of absurdism because he values ​​life over death and wants to enjoy his existence as much as possible, but is instead thwarted in his goals by being condemned to a repetitive and meaningless task. Such is the life of modern man: condemned to perform the same futile daily rituals every day, working without fulfillment, without purpose or meaning in most of what he does.

However, for Camus—and again, this part is generally misunderstood by people who have not read Camus's essay but have only heard of her "argument" secondhand—there is something positive about Sisyphus's condition, or rather his approach to his situation. a rather grim fate. When Sisyphus sees the stone roll back down the hill and has to march down after it, knowing that he will have to start the same process all over again, Camus suggests that Sisyphus would realize the absurd truth of his situation and cure it. with appropriate contempt. In a sense he is 'free': not from having to complete the task, but from doing it without doubt or in the vain hope that it will end. He has freed his own mind by confronting the absurdity of his situation and is able to view it with appropriate disdain and good humor. As the old saying goes, "you gotta laugh..."

Of course, the Greek gods were capricious and not always justified in meting out their punishments to mortals, but Sisyphus' determination to cheat death is clearly doomed in the long run. The ancient Greeks knew as any civilization worth the name knows, that death is an inevitable and even desirable part of life.