Sisyphus

In Greek mythology, Sisyphus (or Sisyphos, /ˈsɪsɪfəs/; Ancient Greek: Σίσυφος Sísyphos) was the founder and king of Ephyra, which is now known as Corinth. He angered Zeus by revealing the god's abduction of Aegina to the river god Asopus, bringing down Zeus’s wrath upon him. As punishment, Sisyphus managed to cheat death twice, only to face eternal suffering in the underworld once he eventually died of old age. The gods condemned him to endlessly roll a massive boulder up a hill, only for it to roll back down every time he neared the summit, forcing him to repeat the task for all eternity. As a result of the lasting influence of this myth, tasks that are both grueling and ultimately pointless are often referred to as Sisyphean (/sɪsɪˈfiːən/).