Sisyphus1.0009_Bulwer-Lytton

Edward Bulwer-Lytton, "Death and Sisyphus," from The Lost Tales of Miletus

Bulwer-Lytton writes the myth of Sisyphus. The preface states his purposes and sources. For the poem, go to archive.org or click here.

Homer epically describes that Sisyphus is punished, emphasizing the boulder's return to the plain: "autis epeita pedonde kulindeto läas anaides." Classical authors explain variously why Sisyphus was punished: "When Zeus secretly carried off Aegina, the daughter of Asopus, Sisyphus is said to have revealed this to Asopus, who was looking for her." (Simpson, trans. Apoll. Bibl. 1.9.3; Pherecydes FrGH 3F119 and Alcaeus 38.5.10 = frg. 110.5-10.) Hyginus Fab. 60 attributes the punishment to Sisyphus' deception of his brother Salmoneus. Lost tragedies by Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides tell how Sisyphus outwits Death.