Sisyphean
SISS-uh-FEE-un
adjective
Denoting or relating to a task that can never be completed
In Greek mythology, Sisyphus was the first king of the city that would come to be called Corinth. He was notorious for his guile and his defiance of the divine order, His transgressions, which included deceit, betrayal and twice outwitting Thanatos (Death) to escape the underworld, provoked the ire of Zeus and earned him an unending punishment: rolling a massive boulder up a steep mountain, only to see it tumble back down every time he neared the summit. The ceaseless cycle of futile labour embodies the archetypal struggle against meaningless that I feel many of us can understand on a Monday morning.
The philosophical resonance of the myth was immortalised by Albert Camus in his 1942 essay The Myth of Sisyphus, where he reframes Sisyphus’s plight as an allegory for humanity’s confrontation with what he calls ‘the absurd’ - the dissonance between our innate desire and search for meaning and the yawning silence of the indifferent universe. Camus argues that Sisyphus achieved a kind of liberation by embracing the absurdity of his task, transforming his torment into an act of transcendent defiance. Thus, the story transcends its ancient role as a cautionary moral tale and probes existential questions: Can one find meaning in relentless toil? Is there dignity in persistence despite inevitable failure? For Camus, Sisyphus, endlessly striving, becomes an emblem of resilience, urging reflection on how we navigate life’s inherent struggles.
So, when the inevitable, grinding spreadsheet nonsense rears its head this week, remember Camus’ parting words: One must imagine Sisyphus happy.