Lexic.us

Definition of Sisyphus

1. Noun. (Greek legend) a king in ancient Greece who offended Zeus and whose punishment was to roll a huge boulder to the top of a steep hill; each time the boulder neared the top it rolled back down and Sisyphus was forced to start again.

Definition of Sisyphus

1. n. A king of Corinth, son of Æolus, famed for his cunning. He was killed by Theseus, and in the lower world was condemned by Pluto to roll to the top of a hill a huge stone, which constantly rolled back again, making his task incessant.

Definition of Sisyphus

1. Proper noun. tragic figure in Greek mythology doomed eternally to roll a boulder up a hill in Tartarus, a part of Hades. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Medical Definition of Sisyphus

1. A king of Corinth, son of aeolus, famed for his cunning. He was killed by Theseus, and in the lower world was condemned by Pluto to roll to the top of a hill a huge stone, which constantly rolled back again, making his task incessant. Origin: L. Sisyphus, Sisyphus, fr. Gr. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Sisyphus

Literary usage of Sisyphus

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. Nature Myths and Stories by Flora J. Cooke (1919)
"STORY OF sisyphus PERHAPS you have heard of sisyphus, the unfortunate king of Corinth, ... Then sisyphus had to begin the toil all over, only to fail again, ..."

2. Greece: II. Grecian History to the Reign of Peisistratus at Athens by George Grote (1899)
"Zeus, indignant with sisyphus for this revelation, inflicted upon him in Hades ... Another legend about the amour of sisyphus with Tyro, is in Hygin. fab. ..."

3. The New American Cyclopaedia: A Popular Dictionary of General Knowledge by George Ripley, Charles Anderson Dana (1862)
"It is regarded by the Bulgarians as their capital. A treaty of peace between Turkey and Austria was concluded here Aug. 4, 1791. sisyphus, in Greek ..."

4. History of Greece by George Grote (1854)
"Zeus, indignant with sisyphus for this revelation, inflicted upon him in Hade's the punishment of perpetually heaving up a hill a great and heavy stone, ..."

5. The Works of Plato: A New and Literal Version, Chiefly from the Text of by Plato (1854)
"... author of the sisyphus; of which the only separate edition is to be found in my " Plato's Four Dialogues, the Crito, Hippias, Alcibiades, and sisyphus," ..."

6. Raemaekers' Cartoons: With Accompanying Notes by Well-Known English Writers by Louis Raemaekers (1916)
"... II—"sisyphus,—His Stone" sisyphus, as the story goes, was a King who widely extended the commerce, and largely increased the wealth, of Corinth, ..."

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