Since childhood, each of us must have heard the catchphrase "Sisyphean Labor." What does it mean? Who is Sisyphus and what was he forced to do? Let’s figure it out, and at the same time remember other phraseological units that came to us from ancient times.
In the myths of ancient Greece, there is such a character as Sisyphus, who was the king of Corinth. Sisyphus lived cheerfully and happily in his magnificent palace, he was cunning, deceiving and dodging. His victims were earthly people who had no power over him. Once he decided that it was possible to outwit even the gods, for which he subsequently paid cruelly. Its history is as follows. When he realized that the death god Tanat had come to him, Sisyphus distracted him with deception and chained him. From this moment, people stopped dying, and the gods of the kingdom of shadows were deprived of the gifts that living people gave them for their dead relatives.
Zeus found out about this disgrace, who was angry and sent the god of war Ares for Tanat, demanding that he be immediately released. After liberation , the death god immediately plunged the wicked Sisyphus into his kingdom of shadows. Hades and his wife Persephone waited a long time for the sacred gifts from the wife of Sisyphus, but all in vain, since he had warned her in advance that no one would bring any gifts for him. Then Sisyphus again decided to trick, announcing to the gods the obstinacy of his wife, who supposedly does not want to part with her wealth. He promised Hades to deal with his wife, for which he needed to visit the land for a short while, but he immediately promised to return.
Terrible Hades, just as before Thanat, believed the liar and returned him to the ground. Once at home, Sisyphus called the guests and rolled a noble feast. Once again, he dared to laugh at the gods. The gods do not forgive this, but the deceiver did not even want to think about it. Sisyphus was cast into the kingdom of shadows and received a terrible punishment in punishment. Every day, from the foot of a high mountain, he was forced to roll up a huge heavy stone, but, having almost reached the top, the stone fell down. It goes on forever. Sisyphean labor is hard and useless, but such is the will of the gods. This myth can teach us a lot if you read it carefully and think carefully. Before you laugh or cheat on someone, remember the Sisyphean labor - so meaningless and hard.
Not one Sisyphus received the punishment from the gods. The son of Zeus Tantalus there in Aida is forced to stand up to his neck in clear transparent water and see branches in front of him with luxurious fruits. He feels terrible thirst and hunger, but bending down to take a sip of water, he sees how it goes through the ground, and holding his hands to the fruits, he realizes that he can not reach them. These torments of Tantalum were given for ridicule and pride in relation to the gods. We must firmly remember that before you commit an act, you need to consider everything. So in work. Having taken up the assignment, everything should be planned so that it is not Sisyphean labor (in vain and useless to anyone), but really necessary and useful work. By the way, the creators of the PERPETUM MOBILE or perpetual motion machine did the Sisyphean work, the meaning of which is meaningless, useless work. They were new to physical laws and invented for years what cannot be at all.
The phraseology of Tantalov’s torment has a completely different meaning. It means the proximity of something very desirable, necessary and, at the same time, the impossibility of possessing it. We experience real Tantalum torment when we want the impossible. This often arises because we do not commensurate goals and our real capabilities, subsequently experiencing mental torment. Soberly assessing the situation, success in business can always be achieved. The main thing is that what you do is not useless, otherwise such work will turn into Sisyphean labor, the significance of which you already know.