Sisyphus and Sisyphean work. Sisyphus' labor and tantalum's torment - a legend

Historians have a very ambiguous attitude towards the character of ancient Greek legends, the Corinthian king Sisyphus. This ruler was the son of the god of the winds named Aeolus. Since Sisyphus had divine roots, he was very smart, cunning and vindictive. He built a city which he called Corinth and became its ruler. The city flourished, numerous trade caravans and ships entered it. Over time, Sisyphus became very rich, there were legends about his treasures. Now he began to look down on some beggar gods from Olympus, for which he was punished.

Rumors reached Sisyphus that the god Zeus had stolen a beautiful girl, the daughter of the river god named Asopus. As soon as this news reached the ears of the ruler of Corinth, he immediately told Asopus himself about this. This snitching greatly angered Zeus and he sent death itself for Sisyphus. However, Sisyphus was the son of God, so he managed to catch death and put it in chains, thus simultaneously saving all people from death.
This time, not only Zeus, but also all the gods of Olympus were angry with Sisyphus. The god of war, Ares, decided to deal with the rebellious ruler, he grabbed him and took him to a deep dungeon. However, his beloved wife Merope saved him and he fled back to Corinth. Then it was time to get down to business. Hermes Trismegistus himself took charge, he caught this nimble king and returned the captive underground again.

For his pride and disobedience, the gods of Olympus doomed Sisyphus to eternal torment. They came up with a sophisticated torture for him: the Corinthian had to lift a huge block of stone up a mountain, as soon as it reached the top, it immediately fell off and ended up at the foot of the cliff. The king had to start all over again.

Since the punishment of the gods of Olympus was painful not only because of the heavy stone that had to be rolled up the mountain, but also because of the meaninglessness of this work. Therefore, the expression “Sisyphean labor” began to mean not so much hard, but completely meaningless work.

Some people use synonyms for this expression, such as: “monkey labor” and “Sisyphus stone.” The ancient Greeks are generally a storehouse of all kinds of proverbs and sayings, many of which are still used today, including the phraseology “Sisyphean labor”.

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“The work of Sisyphean” - this phrase is familiar to many of us: for some - by hearsay, and for others - from our own experience. And, of course, its meaning is known - they usually talk about Sisyphean labor when we are talking about long, painful and fruitless work and torment. But why Sisyphus? What kind of image was used for such a famous phraseological unit? Not everyone knows about this, and we would like to tell you where the expression “The Labor of Sisyphus” came from.

Sisyphus

First, let's give a brief overview:

Sisyphus , and to put it more correctly, Sisif - This is one of the characters in the mythology of Ancient Greece. He was the son of Enarete and Aeolus, the husband of the daughter of Atlas - the galaxy of Merope, from whom he had sons: Alm, Thersander, Ornytion and Glaucus.

Sisyphus was the builder and king of the ancient Greek polis (city) of Corinth (today it is called Ephyra), who after his death was sentenced by the gods to “hard labor” - rolling up a mountain located in the deepest abyss under the kingdom of Hades called Tartarus, a heavy stone that just reaches the top, constantly slides down. This is where, in fact, the expression we discussed above came from.

According to the legendary ancient Greek poet-storyteller Homer, Sisyphus was a cunning, selfish and vicious man who, for the first time among the Greeks (Hellenes), used deception and cunning.

There are several versions of myths associated with Sisyphus, each of which is quite interesting.

Myths about Sisyphus

All existing myths about Sisyphus give us an explanation of why he was so cruelly punished by the gods.

According to one version, the reason for Sisyphus’ punishment was Asopus’ daughter, Aegina. After she was kidnapped by Zeus, Asopus began to look for her, but to no avail. Then Sisyphus told Asopus that he knew how to find Aegina, but would tell him only if Asopus agreed to give him water to the acropolis of Corinth - Acrocorinth.

Another version says that Sisyphus was in a hostile relationship with his brother Salmoneus, and, as predicted by Apollo, raped his daughter Tyro, who later bore him two sons. Tyro, having learned that her sons wanted to kill Salmoneus on the instructions of Sisyphus, killed them themselves. For all this Sisyphus was punished.

The most common version is considered to be this: one day Sisyphus, through deception, abducts Thanatos (the god of death), chains him and leaves him captive (there is also a version where Sisyphus deceives and chains not Thanatos, but Hades). Due to the absence of Thanatos, people no longer die on the planet. Because of this, the gods begin to worry, but they cannot do anything. However, several years later, the god of war Ares manages to save Thanatos. To take revenge on Sisyphus, Thanatos plucks out his soul and then takes him to the kingdom of shadows of dead people.

But Sisyphus distinguished himself again: before he died, he forbade his wife to perform the burial ceremony in the event of his death. Unable to wait for the funeral offerings, Hades and Persephone allow Sisyphus to return to the world of the living for a while so that he can punish his wife for violating sacred customs, and then arrange a traditional funeral with sacrifices.

Then Sisyphus had to return to the kingdom of Hades. But he did not return, but continued to stay in his palace, rejoicing in the fact that he was the only mortal who managed to return to the world of the living from the kingdom of shadows. Time passed, and the fact that Sisyphus did not return was discovered only several years later. Hermes was sent to return the deceiver.

The misdeeds that Sisyphus committed during his lifetime (including posthumous ones) became the reason for Sisyphus' punishment: for eternity he had to roll a huge boulder up a mountain, which kept rolling down, and repeat this action over and over again.

Over time, the image of Sisyphus became firmly established in the works of various artists. For example, he became one of the characters in the satyr dramas of Aeschylus, such as “Sisyphs the Rocker”, “Sisyphs the Fugitive” and “Pheora, or the Isthmian Competitions”, as well as in Sophocles’ play “Sisifus”, Euripides’ satyr drama “Sisyphs” and Critias's play Sisyphus. But in addition to its reflection in the drama of Ancient Greece, the image of Sisyphus was also reflected in the works of figures of modern times - writers (Robert Merle and Albert Camus) and artists (Titian).

And it would not be superfluous to consider the image of Sisyphus in the work of one of the most prominent representatives of absurdism - Albert Camus. Next you will understand why.

Sisyphus in an essay by Albert Camus

If you've ever been interested in absurdism, you know that this philosophical idea of ​​human existence is that his existence has no meaning. And it is in Camus that Sisyphus becomes a man who has risen above the meaninglessness of life and found in it his own purpose, as well as pride. We are talking about Adbert Camus’s 1942 philosophical essay “The Myth of Sisyphus.” By the way, “The Myth of Sisyphus” is a programmatic work in the philosophy of absurdism.

In his work, Camus attempts to answer the question: “Is life worth the trouble of living?” - the only question, according to Camus, that matters in philosophy.

Considering that the gods who punished Sisyphus believed that hard and useless work is the most terrible thing that can be, Camus views Sisyphus as an absurd hero, living a full life, hating death and doomed to meaningless work.

The hero of myths is of greatest interest to the writer when the first one again and again descends from the mountain to its foot in order to find a rolled stone. This moment is the most tragic, because... It is at this moment that Sisyphus comes to full awareness of his hopeless situation. Sisyphus has lost hope, but he also has no fate that he cannot overcome by feeling contempt for it.

Sisyphus has his stone, which is a whole property, and even the smallest piece of which is the whole world for him. In the end, Albert Camus comes to the conclusion that in reality "everything is fine" and the only thing Sisyphus needs to do is imagine himself as a happy person.

It is unusual and interesting that Camus suggests looking at the endless and meaningless work of Sisyphus as a kind of metaphor for the life of a modern person, which he wastes in offices, offices, factory floors and other similar places. Camus said: “Today’s worker labors every day of his life at the same task, and this fate is no less absurd. But this is tragic only in rare moments when it is realized.”

The author of this article does not claim to be a writer who creates masterpieces, or a philosopher who can express the essence of the problem in a few phrases, so do not judge him strictly for what will be said below.

And I would like to say that the comparison of Sisyphus’s work by Albert Camus with the life of a man of the new world, despite the fact that it was made more than half a century ago, is very relevant even today. Millions of people spend their lives in concrete boxes, trying to make ends meet, doing work that is needed by everyone but them, earning money for daily and often immediate needs. Isn't this Sisyphean work? And isn’t this absurdism in all its glory? Does this really make sense? Many of us roll our “stone” onto our “mountain,” each in our own “Tartarus,” and spend our whole lives doing it. This is true, because such a life seems like a heavy burden, constantly requiring attention and action.

But what the author does not agree with is that life is meaningless. Life is given to each of us for a reason - everything in this world has a purpose, from a small bug to the highest and most inaccessible mountains, from an insignificant clerk to a big boss - everyone is part of the whole. Even though this may seem too idealistic, in life any person can do it, so as not to be a person of the absurd.

If you like living, then you need to strive to fill your life with bright colors and emotions, or at least make attempts to do so. If life seems like a “waste of time,” then you can devote it to preparing for “life after.” The only and most important thing is to be able to find yourself, understand what you like, what your soul is about. And even if this doesn’t help, then you can constantly watch your “stone”, which you are trying to heap to the top. Perhaps, over time, the whole universe will be contained in one millimeter of this stone for you.

But still, you shouldn’t make your life absurd. Don't turn it into a Sisyphean task. Live!

07.05.2018 18.02.2019 Vladimir Gulyashikh

Today we will look at a stable expression that came into our speech from Ancient Greece. The phraseological unit "" has been used in speech for more than 2000 years. In this article you will learn the meaning of this phraseological unit, understand in what cases it can be used, and also learn a very interesting history of its origin. In addition, we will tell you in detail about who Sisyphus is and why his work became the basis for the catchphrase.

The meaning of the phraseological unit “Sisyphean labor”

Sisyphean labor is hard, meaningless and constantly repetitive work. It is worth noting that with the help of this phraseological unit one can designate both hard physical labor that does not bring any results, and mental routine work.

The phraseology “Sisyphean labor” can be applied by a person both in relation to his own work and in relation to the fruitless hard work performed by another person. In the case of using an expression in relation to one’s work, the phraseological unit often expresses indignation or hopelessness, and if the phrase is used to characterize the actions of a third party, then in this way sympathy or condemnation, and sometimes a grin, is more often expressed.

Who is Sisyphus?

The legendary king and founder of the ancient Greek city-polis of Corinth found himself in various incidents. His constant qualities were level 80 cunning and incredible resourcefulness. Sisyphus managed to outwit even the gods themselves, which they did not forgive him for.

The hero of the catchphrase in question became this way because he himself was of divine origin. According to myths, he was the son of the wind god Aeolus. Thanks to his cunning, Sisyphus acquired great wealth, after which he ceased to respect the gods. This led to disastrous consequences.

There are several versions of the beginning of Sisyphus’ disagreements with the gods. According to some sources, he learned that the main ancient Greek god Zeus had kidnapped and hid the kidnapped daughter of the river god Asopa on the island. The latter agreed to conduct a river “water pipeline” as a reward for information about her whereabouts. As a result, after the daughter was handed over, fresh water began to flow into Corinth.

And Zeus was angry with Sisyphus for his cunning and sent the god of death Thanatos to him. But the hero of our article turned out to be difficult: he waylaid the enemy and put him in chains. Because of this, people stopped dying altogether. But Thanatos was still rescued from captivity, and Sisyphus was sent to the underground kingdom of the dead, Hades.

However, he managed to escape from there thanks to his wife. The fact is that she did not perform the funeral ritual at his request. The gods sent Sisyphus to punish his wife, but he instead remained in the human world to live for his own pleasure.

But everything comes to an end. The gods brought the cunning king back to Hades and forced him to roll a large stone up a mountain for his disobedience. But he constantly rolled back. And Sisyphus was forced to do his work again and again ad infinitum. This is where the famous image was born.

The history of the origin of phraseological units?

This story was told by Homer in his poem “The Odyssey” (it took shape about 2800 years ago). But the phrase itself was first used later by the Roman poet Propertius, who lived in the 1st century BC. The meaning of the phraseological unit “Sisyphean labor” has been fixed in accordance with the myth - these are difficult and absolutely meaningless actions, which are regularly repeated.

The catchphrase was used in the context of a variety of situations, both in everyday life and in works of art. The expression has become mostly bookish and is rarely used in colloquial speech today. Its analogues are “monkey labor” and “carrying water in a sieve.”

Reflection in culture

The image of Sisyphus, due to its clarity and accuracy, was often used by artists, playwrights, writers and poets. The first dramatic works appeared in ancient times. The plot was also embodied on canvas by painters, for example, the Italian Titian.

And the famous philosopher and writer of the existential movement Albert Camus published the essay “The Myth of Sisyphus” in 1943. It presents the most modern take on the subject as a whole. The apparent uselessness of the work of the hero of the study, when examined in detail, turns out, in the writer’s opinion, to be meaningful in its own way. Even in fruitless work one can find satisfaction, Camus concludes.

Encyclopedic Dictionary of winged words and expressions. - M.: “Locked-Press”. Vadim Serov. 2003.

Sisyphean labor is:

Russian thought and speech. Yours and someone else's. Experience of Russian phraseology. Collection of figurative words and parables. T.T. 1-2. Walking and apt words. A collection of Russian and foreign quotes, proverbs, sayings, proverbial expressions and individual words. St. Petersburg, type. Ak. Sciences.. M. I. Mikhelson. 1896-1912.

What does the expression "Sisyphean labor" mean? The meaning of the phraseological unit Sisyphus's work?

Where did the expression "Sisyphean labor" come from?

Lesya libra

The expression "Sisyphus's work" comes from ancient Greek mythology. The gods, in order to punish Sisyphus, forced him to roll a large stone to the top of the mountain, and when the stone was almost at the top, it rolled down again and Sisyphus had to start all over again. In the end, all his efforts turned out to be useless.

This is where the expression “Sisyphean labor” came from, as a designation for useless efforts that do not bring any results.

Phraseologism " Sisyphus's work" means never-ending And stupid(ineffective, useless) Job.

The expression comes from Homer's great and immortal work "The Odyssey". Sisyphus - King of Corinth. He deceived the Gods and challenged them with his unbelief, for which he was punished by them. The eleventh canto of the work describes how Odysseus headed to the kingdom of Hades and met along the way Sisyphus, punished by the Gods, who must lift a large stone to the top of the mountain. Sisyphus tried his best to roll the stone up the mountain, but he, barely reaching the top, rolled back. And this happened again and again, the unfortunate king returned down and started all over again.

Trew1111

Simply put, Sisyphean labor is unnecessary and useless work; this statement can be applied to many things. It’s good that in real life there is only one difference, very important, at any moment we can understand that we are doing something useless and stop, according to myth, Sisyphus could not do this, it was his eternal punishment. Somehow it turns out to be too cruel. There are several versions of myths and legends why the cunning Sisyphus was so cruelly punished; all these legends have one thing in common - the man tried to deceive and outwit the Gods themselves, for which he received his severe punishment. It is not good to deceive, especially those whom it is practically impossible to defeat.

Now by Sisyphean labor we mean work that is basically useless and very tedious to do, but the boss forces you to do it, and as you know, you can’t argue with him. If there was even any benefit in such work, even the most difficult one, then it would already be described by the phraseology “cleaning the Augean stables.” But Sisyphean labor is useless, because from ancient Greek history we know that after death a certain king of one of the many cities of Greece was punished by the gods for unbelief - he was forced to constantly push a round and heavy stone up the mountain, which, having reached the top, inevitably rolled down to another side and Sisyphus had to start all over again.

Alien

The expression “Sisyphean labor” came to us from an ancient Greek myth. Poor Sisyphus was punished by the gods for disobedience and, as punishment, he had to roll a huge stone to the top of the mountain, the stone always rolled down and the unfortunate man did the job again and again. The phrase means useless work that does not bring results. There is a related expression: “Carrying water in a sieve.”

Alena sunny

Phraseologism "Sisyphean labor" means useless and hard work. Derived from the Greek myth of Sisyphus, who turned absolutely everything he touched into gold. Having ended up in hell for his sins, he was given the most severe punishment - to push a huge stone up the mountain, which kept rolling down as soon as Sisyphus almost reached the top.

Shabaldina

The source of origin of this phraseological unit is the Greek myth of Sisyphus, a cunning, treacherous Corinthian king who managed to deceive the gods in order to prolong his earthly life. For which he incurred the wrath of Zeus. After his death, Sisyphus was forced to roll a heavy stone up a mountain. At the very top the stone fell down and so on endlessly. It happens in life: you do and do some endless work, and then you realize that the result is zero. This is what is called Sisyphean labor - endless, useless work.

Ludvigo

The Krinthian king Sisyphus became famous thanks to his numerous robberies of travelers, deceiving the gods, he imprisoned the god of death Thanatos when he came for him. In revenge, the gods punished the king by constantly rolling a heavy stone up a mountain in the next world, but, barely reaching the top, the stone falls down, and Sisyphus has to begin his work again.

The expression denotes futility of effort, work that is hard, but ultimately does not bring results.

Majestikmolsent

The phraseology “Sisyphean labor” is also called “monkey labor”, from which the very meaning of the expression follows - unnecessary or stupid, stupid work that a person performs. It is noteworthy that Sisyphean labor occurs on the initiative of the person himself and he is not forced to do it, but due to pride or stupidity, a person continues to try to prove something to someone, doing meaningless actions, although he can stop at any moment.

Frau Irkins

“Sisyphean labor” is meaningless, useless, but difficult and exhausting work. It deprives a person of time and energy, but does not bear fruit in the form of any noticeable result. The expression owes its appearance to an ancient Greek myth.

What does the expression “Sisyphean labor” mean?

After all, how can one understand that “labor” has the meaning of a useful result? If there is no result, then it’s like “no work”?

Eyvind the storm of the fjords

Sisyphus is from the ancient Greek myth. Like, in Hades, after death for sins, a huge stone was rolled up a mountain, and at the top it fell back and you had to start all over again. In short, a designation for useless hard work.

Star

Sisyphus had to roll a huge stone up a high mountain, which at the top suddenly broke out of his hands and rolled down. And it all started all over again... The expression of Sisyphean labor began to mean hard, exhausting, useless work.

Fatalex-radish;-)

The myth of Sisyphus is one of the most controversial and can be explained in different ways:
in Homer, Sisyphus is a cunning, vicious, selfish man who is punished for his sins after death. In Hades, he was sentenced to roll a heavy stone up a mountain, which, barely reaching the top, rolled down, and all the work had to be started all over again, but...
on the other hand, this myth teaches that only by “going against fate” can one achieve much, even defeat Death, albeit temporarily, but make everyone immortal:
The most common myth is about how Sisyphus deceived the death demon Thanatos (sent after him as punishment for helping Asopus), chained him and kept him captive. For several years people did not die. And only Ares freed Thanatos.
And even after entering the kingdom of Hades, Sisyphus managed to deceive the gods and turned out to be the only one of the dead to return to earth. He forbade his wife to perform funeral rites and sacrifices after his death. In Hades, he asked permission to return to earth to punish his wife for violating sacred customs. The gods released Sisyphus, but he did not return, and Hermes had to be sent for him.
So what is he like - Sisyphus?
Was he fairly punished???

Marina Oleynik

Sisyphean labor is useless labor. Sisyphus, or rather Sisyphus (ancient Greek Σίσυφος) - in ancient Greek mythology, the builder and king of Corinth, after death (in Hades) sentenced by the gods to roll a heavy stone up the mountain, which, barely reaching the top, rolled down each time. Hence the expressions “Sisyphean labor”, “Sisyphean stone”, meaning hard, endless and fruitless work and torment.

Since childhood, each of us has probably heard the catchphrase “The Labor of Sisyphus.” What does it mean? Who is Sisyphus and what was he forced to do? Let's figure this out, and at the same time remember other phraseological units that came to us from ancient times.

In the myths of ancient Greece there is such a character as Sisyphus, who was the king of Corinth. Sisyphus lived happily and happily in his luxurious palace, cunning, deceiving and dodging. His victims were earthly people who had no power over him. One day he decided that it was possible to outwit even the gods, for which he subsequently paid cruelly. Its history is as follows. When he realized that the death god Thanat had come to him, Sisyphus distracted him with deception and put him in chains. From that moment on, people stopped dying, and the gods of the kingdom of shadows were deprived of the gifts that living people gave them for their dead relatives.

Zeus learned about this disgrace, who became angry and sent the god of war Ares for Thanat, demanding that he be immediately released. After his release, he immediately plunged the wicked Sisyphus into his kingdom of shadows. Hades and his wife Persephone waited a long time for sacred gifts from Sisyphus’s wife, but all in vain, since he warned her in advance that no one would bring any gifts for him. Here again Sisyphus decided to play a trick, announcing to the gods about the obstinacy of his wife, who allegedly did not want to part with her wealth. He promised Hades to deal with his wife, for which he needed to visit the earth for a short time, but he immediately promised to return back.

The terrible Hades, just like Tanat before, believed the liar and returned him to earth. Once at home, Sisyphus called the guests and threw a noble feast. Once again he dared to laugh at the gods. The gods do not forgive this, but the deceiver did not even want to think about it. Sisyphus was cast into the kingdom of shadows and received a terrible punishment as punishment. Every day, from the foot of a high mountain, he was forced to roll up a huge heavy stone, but, having almost reached the top, the stone fell down. This goes on forever. Sisyphus's work is hard and useless, but such is the will of the gods. This myth can teach us a lot if we read it carefully and think carefully. Before you laugh at or deceive someone, remember the work of Sisyphus - so meaningless and difficult.

Sisyphus was not the only one who received punishment from the gods. Tantalus himself, there in Hades, is forced to stand up to his neck in clean, transparent water and see in front of him branches with luxurious fruits. He experiences terrible thirst and hunger, but bending down to take a sip of water, he sees how it goes through the ground, and stretching out his hands to the fruits, he realizes that he cannot reach them. These torments were given to Tantalus for ridicule and pride towards the gods. We must firmly remember that before committing any action, we must think everything over. It’s the same at work. Having taken on the task, you should plan everything so that it is not Sisyphean work (in vain and unnecessary to anyone), but a truly necessary and useful task. By the way, the creators either performed Sisyphean labor, the meaning of which is meaningless, useless work. They were poorly acquainted with physical laws and spent years inventing something that could not exist at all.

The phraseological unit Tantalus flour has a completely different meaning. It means the proximity of something very desirable, necessary and, at the same time, the impossibility of possessing it. We experience real Tantalus pangs when we want the impossible. This often arises because we do not balance our goals with our real capabilities, subsequently experiencing mental anguish. By soberly assessing the situation, success in business can always be achieved. The main thing is that what you do is not useless, otherwise such work will turn into Sisyphean labor, the meaning of which you already know.