Albert Camus wrote the Myth of Sysiphus. The stories main character is Sysiphus. He lived in Ancient Greece and was the founder and king of a prosperous city called Corinth. Sysiphus was an extremely smart and clever man but did indeed possess a passionate desire to outwit the gods. Sysiphus also possessed a highly rebellious nature. During his time, he was a mortal man who had the audasity to match wits with the gods. Sysiphus was condemned to role a rock up to the top of a mountain, watch it role back down again, and then push it back up again. His passionate and rebellious nature combined with his desire to outwit the gods is what led to his fate of futile labor. For example, Jupiter, the god of the Sea, abducted Aegina, the daughter of Aesopus. Aesopus was naturally quite distressed by this event and went to Sysiphus to complain of this monstrosity. Sysiphus knew where Aegina had been taken. He then told Aesopus where Jupiter had taken Aegina on the Condition that that Aesopus would provide water to the city of Corinth. Sysiphus tricked death when it came and took him to the underworld he left death there in chains. Sysiphus also once wanted to test his wife's love for him. He ordered her to publicly display his body and not give him a proper burial. Once he was condemned to the underworld he complained to Pluto that he needed to return so that he could chastise his wife. After once again seeing the pleasures of this world he didn’t want to return to the underworld and for many years he did not. Once again the gods had been outwitted by Sysiphus, a mere mortal. This angered them deeply. Mercury came to seize Sysiphus and ,at once, condemned him to the underworld to carry out his Fate. Albert Camus, the author of the Myth of the cave wrote this Myth during the tumultuous Shambles of WWII. All around him he witnessed the pain and suffering people had to indure from the outcome of war. He had a bleak but courageous...
