Sisyphean Task
A laborious, seemingly endless effort that ultimately leads nowhere — named after the mythological king condemned to roll a boulder uphill for eternity.
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Origin
In Greek mythology, Sisyphus was the founding king of Ephyra (later Corinth) punished by Zeus for cheating death and betraying divine secrets — condemned to roll an immense boulder uphill for eternity, only for it to roll back each time. The myth entered modern philosophy through Albert Camus's 1942 essay The Myth of Sisyphus, which recast the image as a metaphor for the absurd.
Updated February 22, 2026