Which one is Sisyphus
A
B
C
1. A
2. B
3. C
Mean =
What kind of hero does Albert
Camus call Sisyphus?
44%
32%
24%
1.
2.
3.
4.
extraordinary
sacred
profane
absurd
0%
1
Mean = 2.84
2
3
4
Myth as a Sisyphean Task
Homer on Sisyphus (Odyssey xi.593-600):
and I saw Sisyphus in violent torment, seeking to raise a
monstrous stone with both his hands. [Verily he would brace
himself with hands and feet, and thrust the stone toward the crest
of a hill, but as often as he was about to heave it over the top, the
weight would turn it back, and then down again to the plain would
come rolling the ruthless stone. But he would strain again and
thrust it back, and the sweat [600] flowed down from his limbs, and
dust rose up from his head.
Sisyphus in Art
Name vase of the Underworld Painter (Munich)
Camus’ Absurd Hero
Alt Linux Sisyphus
http://www.altlinux.com/index.php?module=sisyphus
Sisyphus Gaming
The constant cycle of hardware upgrades and more complex games can
leave a gamer feeling like the legendary Sisyphus.
Simon Abramovitch in Escapist Magazine
The fact is, technology will always be moving
forward, keeping the cycle running fluidly, trapping
high-road gamers into a never-ending struggle for
more, ringing the familiar bells of the perennially
dissatisfied middle-class American. Buy, consume,
then buy some more.
The case is like that of the mythical Sisyphus,
eternally pushing a stone up a mountain slope,
whence the stone falls back under its own weight,
and the climb begins anew. That high road can
perhaps be likened to this slope, with the endless
cycle of renewed and heightened expectations
keeping any end inevitably unreachable. Perhaps,
as with our look back at early games, there is
indeed wisdom in classics.
http://www.sisyphusproductions.com
Franz von Stuck
1863-1928
The Redemption of Sisyphus
Watercolor Drawing, 1999
by American artist Ilene Winn-Lederer
Stills Stephen Lyrics - Myth Of Sisyphus
(Stephen Stills, Kenny Passarelli Lyrics (1975)
Are you leavin'
Bein' alone
Always made you so sad
I got memories of the city
Followin' me everywhere I go
Are you mad with heartache
Got a country home
And you a Parisienne
Gonna take all your sorrows
Right along with you when I'm gone
And I got to go away
Only need a couple of days
I got one more chance to sing it
And I ain't gon' waste my time
'Cause everything including you
Is on the line
Are you troubled
Feelin' bad
And no one seems to care
Got the myth of Sisyphus
Fallin' on you like a rolling stone
Yet Do I Marvel
by Countee Cullen (1903-1946)
Yet Do I Marvel
by Countee Cullen
I doubt not God is good, well-meaning, kind,
And did He stoop to quibble could tell why
The little buried mole continues blind,
Why flesh that mirrors Him must someday die,
Make plain the reason tortured Tantalus
Is baited by the fickle fruit, declare
If merely brute caprice dooms Sisyphus
To struggle up a never-ending stair.
Inscrutable His ways are, and immune
To catechism by a mind too strewn
With petty cares to slightly understand
What awful brain compels His awful hand.
Yet do I marvel at this curious thing:
To make a poet black, and bid him sing.
Yet Do I Marvel
by Countee Cullen
I doubt not God is good, well-meaning, kind,
And did He stoop to quibble could tell why
The little buried mole continues blind,
Why flesh that mirrors Him must someday die,
Make plain the reason tortured Tantalus
Is baited by the fickle fruit, declare
If merely brute caprice dooms Sisyphus
To struggle up a never-ending stair.
Inscrutable His ways are, and immune
To catechism by a mind too strewn
With petty cares to slightly understand
What awful brain compels His awful hand.
Yet do I marvel at this curious thing:
To make a poet black, and bid him sing.
Types of Myth
Where does Sisyphus fit?
ordinary
extraordinary
extraodinary
mortal
mortal
immortal
human
hero
god
folktale
legend
myth
Märchen
saga
http://department.monm.edu/classics/Courses/Clas230/MythDocuments/types_
of_myth.htm
Myths and Folktales
MYTH
specific characters,
often superhuman
lack of ordinary logic
unpredictable sequence of events
due especially to supernatural elements
element of seriousness
deals with timeless past
FOLKTALE
generic characters,
usually ordinary
logical progression of events
use of ingenuity
kind of wish-fulfilment fantasy
reflect simple social situations
element of entertainment
historical time
http://department.monm.edu/classics/Courses/Clas230/MythDocuments/myth_and_fo
lktale.htm
Folktale Themes
The process of METAMORPHOSIS
The Unwanted Child who Survives
The Wicked Step-mother/Step-envy
The Wicked Uncle
The Rival Brothers
The Curse on a Family
The Curse and the Vendetta
The Son's Responsibilities to his Father
The Son's Search for his Father
The Acquisition of Maturity
The Offense against a God or Goddess and its Consequences
The Unavoidable Truth of the Oracle
The recognition Sign or the Test of Identity
The Gift of the Culture Hero
The Hero's Quest
The Test of the Hero through Perils or Temptation (of
irresponsibility, sensuality, violence)
The Search for Immortality/the Conquest of Death/ the Descent
to the Underworld/ the Harrowing of Hell
Finding what is lost
Freeing the Oppressed
The Man who Returns
The Hero's Betrayal of the Princess
Rescue of the Princess
Rescue by the Heroine (Women to the Rescue)
A Woman's Web
A Woman's Wit
The Revenge of the Woman Scorned
The Danger of the Feminine
Civilization versus Chaos--Justice vs. Injustice--Love vs. Hate
The Suitor Contest
The Theft of the Bride
The Deathly Wedding or the Fatal Marriage
The Foundation Legend
The Symbol upon which a Life Depends (Life Token)
The Symbol upon which a City's Safety Depends
The Unwanted or Unlucky Gift
The Magical garment
The Fatal Choice
The Never-ending Punishment
The Impossible Task
The "Happily-ever-after" Ending
Divine hostility/ Divine favor
The Magic Spell or Charm
The Hero's Loss of favor with his People and/or the Gods
Mysterious Death of the Hero
Apotheosis of the Hero (Deification)
Ingenious Device or Trick
Disobedient Child or Spouse
Harmful Curiosity
The Solution of a riddle
The breaking of a taboo/disobedience to divine instructions
The skilled craftsman or possessor of a special talent
Intelligence versus Brute Strength
The Accidental Murder of a near relative
Why is Myth a Sisyphean Task?
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Diversity of Narratives
Diversity of Media
Diversity of Truth (History vs. Fiction)
Diversity of Versions
Diversity of Belief (Religion vs. Myth)
Diversity of Geography