Sisyphus

thumb|alt=Sisyphus depicted on a black-figure amphora vase |Persephone supervising Sisyphus in the Underworld, Attic [[black-figure amphora, BC, Staatliche Antikensammlungen]] thumb|Sisyphus and Amphiaraus, copy of a mural in the [[François Tomb, Vulci, made in 4th century BC]]

In Greek mythology, Sisyphus or Sisyphos (; ) is the founder and king of Ephyra (now known as Corinth). He reveals Zeus's abduction of Aegina to the river god Asopus, thereby incurring Zeus's wrath. His subsequent cheating of death earns him eternal punishment in the underworld, once he dies of old age. The gods forced him to roll an immense boulder up a hill only for it to roll back down every time it neared the top, repeating this action for eternity. Through the classical influence on contemporary culture, tasks that are both laborious and futile are therefore described as Sisyphean ().