SISYPHE

Sisyphus is the son of Eole and Enarety . He is considered the mythical founder of Corinth .

In Homer's poems, Sisyphus is the most astute of men. But from Aristotle or Horace, he becomes a "deceitful" and deceptive character.

Sisyphus is best known for having foiled death, the god Thanatos .

In exchange for a source that would never run dry, Sisyphus revealed to the river god Asopos where his daughter Aegina was , kidnapped by Zeus, who wanted her and had taken the form of an eagle. Asopos made Zeus flee, but the latter resented Sisyphus; he sent Thanatos to punish him.

However, when the genius of Death came to get him, Sisyphus offered to show him one of his inventions: the handcuffs. He chained Thanatos, so that the latter could not take him to Hell .

Realizing that no one was dying, Zeus sent Ares to deliver Thanatos and take Sisyphus to the Underworld.

But Sisyphus had previously convinced his wife not to give her an adequate funeral. He was thus able to convince Hades to let him go back to the living to settle this problem. When he returned to Corinth, he refused to return to the dead. Thanatos then had to come and get him by force.

For having dared to challenge the gods, Sisyphus was condemned to eternally roll up to the top of a hill a rock which descended each time before reaching the summit