SisyphusANCIENT

Attic black-figure amphora, 530-520 B.C., attributed to the Bucci Painter; depicting Danaids and Sisyphus and his boulder(?), Munich, Museen—Staatliche Antikensammlungen und Glyptothek, no. 1493 = CVA 7 pls. 355 and 356, 1 = Beazley no. 301639.

The painting of Sisyphus and psychae/Danaids is generally regarded as the back of a vase that features Heracles with chained Cerberus on the front. Beazley metadata: "B[ack]: Hades, Underworld, winged women with hydriai pouring water into pithos (Danaids), Sisyphos with stone, rock." (vid. supr.)

Oakley does not include an image of this vase among figures in LIMC s.v. "Sisyphos (=6?)". The image at right, derived from Harrison (JF 5540), was published by the Archive for Research on Archetypal Symbolism (aras.org); ArtStor provides the image. Application for use is on file.

Whether the object Sisyphus hoists is the stone (Oakley, et al.) or the Sun (Graves, et al.) is disputable. See E. Walter-Karydi (2015), Die Athener und ihre Gräber (1000-300 v.Chr.) (Berlin), 136 fig. 69, for more.