Sisyphean work is a popular expression, it denotes hard, but at the same time useless work that does not bring any result. This expression came to the Russian language from the myths of Ancient Greece.
The myth of Sisyphus
Sisyphus was the son of the lord of the winds, Aeolus. He founded the city of Corinth, where he collected enormous wealth, thanks to his cunning and resourcefulness. Moreover, Sisyphus deceived and robbed not only ordinary people, but also the gods.
When Sisyphus felt that the god of death was following him by the name of Thanat, who was supposed to take the cunning man to the dark underworld, he decided to deceive him, speak and outwit him. The Corinthian rogue succeeded in this, and he not only deceived Thanat with his words, but also fettered him in strong fetters.
This dubious feat broke the eternal order among people, since death simply disappeared. Together with her, the magnificent funerals disappeared, at which the relatives of the dead made rich sacrifices to the gods. Of course, they did not like the new order at all, so the Thunderer Zeus sent the god of war himself to free Thanat. Freed from the shackles, the god of death took the soul of Sisyphus and took him to the kingdom of shadows.
However, Sisyphus foresaw this possibility and ordered his wife not to arrange a funeral in this case, which she did. The king of the underworld, Hades, and his wife waited a long time for the funeral gifts. But then Sisyphus came to them, who asked to let him go to earth so that he would explain to his wife what and how to do, of course, after that he promised to return. Hades sent Sisyphus to earth, but he, of course, did not even think to fulfill the promise given to the gods. The sly man gathered his friends and threw a feast where he boasted that he was the only one who escaped from the realm of the dead.
Hades for the second time sent for the deceiver Thanat, who returned Sisyphus to the underworld now forever. The gods were very angry with the cunning Corinthian king, so they arranged for him a rather unpleasant afterlife. Sisyphus daily had to push and roll a huge stone to the top of the mountain, and when the goal of this process was already close, a huge stone fell down. And it went on forever.
Modern meaning
It is in this myth that the phraseological unit "Sisyphean labor" originates. So it is customary to talk about meaningless and very hard work, which has no beginning or end. Sometimes a similar construction is used when talking about some kind of visible, but unattainable goal, which requires constant application of certain efforts. In some cases, the words "Sisyphean labor" denote work, the remuneration for which does not correspond to the effort expended on it.
