In Greek history and mythology, there was never a shortage of flamboyant personalities. Moreover, the people's memory did not idealize them at all. The stories about Greek heroes are not at all like the fairy tales of other peoples. They contain a minimum of miracles, but a fair share of harsh life truth. Perhaps this happened due to the fact that most of the legendary Greek heroes were real historical figures, whose biography was only slightly embellished with popular fantasy. For example, we know that Agamemnon killed the husband and son of Clytemestra (sister of Elena the Beautiful), and then forcibly took her as his wife. Nestor, the king of Pylos, was engaged in piracy, his father Neleus was a robber, and I don’t even want to remember the "exploits" of the sons of Pelope Atreus and Fiesta.
Moreover, all events took place in specific places and in a certain historical era, for the most part in the XIV-XIII centuries BC. - during the heyday of Mycenae, which was ended by the victorious Trojan War and the Dorian invasion of the Peloponnese. If you look, most of the Greek heroes were harsh, but just warriors, like Diomedes or Peleus, or schemers and scoundrels, like the Mycenaean king Atreus or, say, Telamon, Peleus's brother, who kidnapped the wife of the Trojan king Priam Hesion. Somewhat apart in this row are three extra-class rogues, cunning from cunning, unsurpassed masters of trick and deception. This is the well-known Odysseus, the son of Laertes, Autolycus, the son of Hermes, and Sisyphus, the son of Aeolus, the progenitor of all the Aeolians. Moreover, Odysseus was Autolycus's grandson, and Sisyphus was his own son, but more on that later.
No matter how cunning Odysseus was, he was far from Sisyphus. This legendary hero, and at the same time a notorious rogue, caused the most conflicting feelings among the Greeks. For the inhabitants of Corinth, he was the wisest and fairest of heroes, for the inhabitants of Attica - a robber from the high road, and for others - a rogue who deceived many people and gods. And in their own way they were all right. In any case, he was an extraordinary personality. Nothing is really known about the childhood and youth of Sisyphus. On the historical stage, he appears unexpectedly, when Medea, having quarreled with Jason, for some reason gave Sisyphus the seaside town of Efira, located near the Isthmus isthmus separating the Peloponnese and Attica.
However, we can easily determine what kind of services Sisyphus provided to Medea. Judging by his further "exploits", he was distinguished by great awareness and was aware of all the intrigues and gossip. If he lived in our time, he would be the head of a detective agency or information bureau. Sisyphus successfully converted his knowledge into material acquisitions, and he most likely received Ether as a reward for proving Jason's adultery.
Sisyphus turned out to be an extremely successful ruler. He renamed the ether to Corinth, which began to develop rapidly thanks to trade and tourism. One of the first Sisyphus realized that for the development of the city it was necessary to promote the influx of visitors by all means. When his young nephew Melikert drowned in the sea, Sisyphus organized in his memory the Isthmian Games, which were second only to the Olympic Games in popularity. This event attracted crowds of onlookers from all over Hellas, who substantially replenished the city budget. Over time, Corinth became the largest trade center opposed to Athens, which at about the same time Theseus founded on the site of a pilgrim town around the ancient altar of Athena.
However, government was not the only occupation of Sisyphus. The economic situation at that time was difficult, since the Egyptians and Punyans did not allow the Greeks to engage in sea trade and closed their ports for them (many of the Greek merchants were simultaneously engaged in piracy). Everyone had to somehow spin, and Sisyphus, like many other rulers, earned money by robbing neighboring territories, namely Attica, which was close by. Having robbed and killed travelers, he always left his trademark in place - he crushed the corpses with a large stone. Because of this, his fame in Attica was of the most evil nature.
Livestock was another source of income for Sisyphus. His herd of cows was the largest in the entire Peloponnese. Because of the cows, in fact, there was a conflict between Sisyphus and another famous rogue Autolycus. Once Sisyphus noticed that his herd began to rapidly thin out, and Autolycus's cows increased in order. According to legend, Autolycus received from his father Hermes the ability to change the appearance of living beings, for example, to turn cows into goats, to become invisible himself and to make invisible whatever he wants. Naturally, it was not easy to resist theft with such abilities. However, Autolycus was not a commonplace thief. He was a mighty warrior, invincible in battle, who taught the struggle of Hercules himself, so it was at least unwise to quarrel with him.
But Sisyphus did not shy away from difficulties. On the underside of each cow's hooves, he carved the letter "C", signifying that the cow belongs to him. When once again some of the cows disappeared, there were clear prints of hooves with the letter "C" on the road, which led straight to the possession of Autolycus. Summoning a crowd of neighbors to help, Sisyphus went to Autolycus and gave him a huge scandal. While passions raged in the barnyard, Sisyphus himself crept into Autolycus's house and under the guise of seducing his daughter Anticlea. Soon after, Anticlea married Laertes and bore him a son, Odysseus. When we are told that Odysseus was born premature, then this is a great exaggeration, just the gestational age was considered not from that date. As you can see, it was better not to offend Sisyphus, since he took revenge very subtly.
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He treated his brother Salmoneus even more abruptly, who after the death of their father Aeolus took the Thessalian throne. Sisyphus did not like this very much, since he himself was not averse to becoming the king of Thessaly. He chose a peculiar way of revenge - he seduced the daughter of Salmoneus, his niece, the beautiful Tyro, who bore him two sons. Then he told her that according to the prediction of the oracle, the sons of Tyro would kill Salmoneus. The unhappy woman killed her own children to save her father. Then Sisyphus appeared before the Thessalians as a champion of morality and a defender of the law. He accused his niece of infanticide, and then expelled from Thessaly and Tyro and Salmoneus himself, and seized the throne of his father by force.
As you can see, this hero has never been particularly virtuous. However, Sisyphus managed to make ill-wishers for himself, not only among people, but also among the gods. According to legend, Zeus took a fancy to a pretty nymph named Aegina, the daughter of the river god Asop. I must say that the Thunderer, being an exemplary family man, preferred to manage his affairs quietly. Zeus stole Aegina and hid her on the island of Enon (which was later renamed Aegina in her honor), where she later gave birth to Eak, the famous hero, the grandfather of Achilles, the father of Peleus and Telamon.
Asop searched for his missing daughter for a long time and, in the end, turned to the all-knowing Sisyphus for help. None of the people in their right mind would intervene in the conflict of the gods, but not Sisyphus. He was just engaged in the construction of the fortress walls around Corinth, and he was worried about the lack of a never-ending source of drinking water, without which the fortress is of little use. Asop went to meet him and created a source of delicious water in the center of the city, which the Corinthians still proudly demonstrate to tourists. In return, Sisyphus told the river god who had kidnapped his daughter and where she was.
The scandal turned out to be great. Enraged Asop attacked Zeus and almost finished him off. Taken by surprise, Zeus had to flee, shooting back with lightning. When he barely returned to Olympus alive, he also received a headwash from his angry wife Hera. The Olympian gods secretly laughed at this story for many years. When Zeus found out the source of the information leak, his rage knew no bounds. He ordered Thanatos, the god of death, to overthrow Sisyphus into the kingdom of the dead and subject him to the most cruel tortures. However, Thanatos did not cope with the task.
The trickster Sisyphus managed to prepare for the visit of the god of death. Having met Thanatos, as the most honored guest, he threw a feast in his honor and told him a bunch of the freshest gossip. When the guest relaxed a little, Sisyphus boasted of the pads of an unusual design and in the process of demonstrating their device, he quickly chained the hapless god. For a few days, all deaths on earth ceased. Even the warriors, cut in half, continued to live. Then the god of war Ares could no longer stand this mockery. He personally arrived in Corinth, freed Thanatos, and without further ado, brought Sisyphus straight to the realm of the dead.
However, this story did not end there. Taught by her husband, the wife of Sisyphus Merope left his body without burial. Since the sacred custom was boldly violated, the indignant Sisyphus turned to Hades and Persephone with a request to release him into the world of the living for three days so that he could take care of his own funeral, and at the same time punish his wife approximately. The gods of the kingdom of the dead, moved by his noble indignation, went to meet him. However, having returned to the world of the living, Sisyphus did not even think to fulfill his promise.
After the resurrection, he lived for many more years, until, during the next raid on Attica, he was finally finished off by Theseus. However, they also say that the father of Autolycus, the heavenly patron of thieves and rogues Hermes, appeared for his soul, who brought the fugitive back to Hades. This time the gods were ruthless. From now on until the end of time, Sisyphus was destined to roll a huge stone onto a high mountain, which fell down near the very top. And this punishment is full of deep symbolism, relevant not only to the ancient Greeks, but also to us. After all, the hard and pointless work to which Sisyphus was doomed, many people do voluntarily out of habit and fear of change. We complain about life, but we stubbornly continue to roll our useless stones uphill. And it turns out that the habit turns out to be nothing better than the curse of the gods.
Centuries passed, and in the minds of people, the image of Sisyphus was gradually transformed - he began to evoke not contempt, but sympathy. After all, Sisyphus was not just an ordinary villain, but a man who was not afraid to expose Zeus, led the gods and heroes by the nose and built a beautiful city. How many mortals can boast of the same? His descendants Glaucus, Ornithion, Fok became heroes and left their bright mark on the history of Hellas. The tomb of Sisyphus, located in a secret place not far from Corinth, eventually became considered sacred. His sins were forgotten, and among the Greek aristocracy it became prestigious to have Sisyphus among the legendary ancestors. Heavy punishment was no longer perceived as a well-deserved punishment, and became a symbol of the vindictiveness and rancor of the gods. Well, the most cunning of the Greeks, Sisyphus managed to improve his image even after his death. There are rumorsthat now his torment is over, he is forgiven, and became the heavenly patron of all journalists, PR specialists and political strategists.
Author: YURI RUDE