Corinth

In a distant kingdom, on the tops of the mountains of Greece, there was a beautiful city called Corinth. Corinth had a king, Sisyphus, who was known for his wit and cunning.

Sisyphus often used his wit to fool the gods and men, which got him into many adventures.

Sisyphus sees something he shouldn't...

One day, Sisyphus discovered a secret of the gods. He had seen Zeus kidnap Aegina, the daughter of the river god Asopus, and hide her away. Zeus wanted to keep this act secret,

...and gains a resource for his city

but Sisyphus decided to reveal the secret to Asopos in exchange for a water source in Corinth. Asopos, grateful, agreed and gave the spring to Sisyphus.

Punishment

The gods, however, did not forgive such acts. Zeus, the king of the gods, was very angry with Sisyphus. So he ordered the god of death, Hades, to take Sisyphus and lead him to the underworld to punish him for his wickedness.

The trick

But Sisyphus again had a plan. When Hades came for him, Sisyphus tricked him and bound him with chains, preventing death from visiting the world. Thus, people stopped dying, and the gods began to worry.

Liberation of Ares

Zeus, realizing what had happened, sent the warrior Ares to free Hades and take Sisyphus to the underworld.

New plan

But Sisyphus had thought of another trick. Before he died, he had asked his wife not to bury him properly, so that he would have an excuse to return to earth to scold her

Sisyphus - Persephone

When he arrived in the underworld, he begged Persephone, the queen of the underworld, to let him return to earth for a while to correct his wife's mistake.

Back to the Underworld

Eventually, Zeus caught him and brought him back to the underworld, where he gave him an eternal punishment.

Punishment

Sisyphus had to roll a huge rock up to the top of a hill. But every time he got close to the top, the rock rolled back to the beginning, and Sisyphus had to start all over again.

Thus, he was doomed to do this pointless work forever, reminding everyone of the punishment that comes when one tries to fool the gods.