In Greek mythology, Sisyphus, the cunning and deceitful king of Corinth, earned the wrath of the gods by twice cheating death itself—first by trapping Thanatos (Death) so that no one could die, and later by persuading Persephone to allow him to return to the living world to scold his wife for an improper burial. As punishment for his trickery and arrogance, the gods condemned him for eternity to the underworld, where his task was to roll a massive boulder up a steep hill. However, just as he would nearly reach the summit, the boulder would inevitably slip from his grasp and roll back down to the plain, forcing him to begin his labor again, forever. His myth has become an enduring allegory for futile, repetitive labor and the human struggle against the absurd.