Sisyphus, << SIHS uh fuhs, >> was the founder of the city of Corinth in Greek mythology. He was a notorious trickster, who deceived even the gods.
Sisyphus once outwitted the god Thanatos (Death). Zeus, ruler of the gods, had sent Thanatos to punish Sisyphus for revealing one of Zeus’s love affairs. Sisyphus managed to capture Thanatos and bind him in chains. No one died while Thanatos was bound. The god Ares freed Thanatos and gave him power over Sisyphus. Then Sisyphus told Merope, his wife, to bury him without the usual funeral rites. After he died and went to Hades, the land of the dead, Sisyphus begged to be allowed to return to earth to punish his wife for failing to give him a proper burial. After gaining his release, Sisyphus refused to return to Hades.
The god Hermes finally captured Sisyphus and placed him under the control of Hades, ruler of the land of the dead. Sisyphus was forced to roll a huge stone to the top of a hill. Each time Sisyphus was about to roll the stone over the summit, it pushed him back to the bottom of the hill.
