A Tantalizing Sisyphean Task

Thomas J. Sienkewicz (Monmouth College)

In this multi-media presentation the many different and unexpected ways that the myths of great ancient sinners Tantalus, Sisyphus, and Ixion appear in modern culture are examined. Modern treatments of these myths illustrate two important aspects of Classical mythology. First, these myths retain an eternal and renewable appeal; i.e., as the sinner Tantalus learned, they are tantalizing. Second, the ways in which these myths are used are so wide-ranging and open-ended that they parallel the unending nature of a Sisyphean task. Often they are so transformed and changed, in fact, that they bear only minimal resemblance to their original ancient forms.

Ixion is perhaps the least known of the ancient sinners yet references to him can be found in modern art, computer programming, automobile and machine manufacturing, astronomy, and even motorcycling.

References to Sisyphus also appear in modern art, computer programming and gaming, but also in the context of popular music. Stephen Sills and Kenny Passerelli, for example, featured the sinner in a song called “The Myth of Sisyphus” in 1975. Especially rich is the appearance of Sisyphus in modern cartoons, many of which find humor in his endless task, but others use the sinner to make serious commentary on contemporary political situations from the Irish Problem in 19^th century Britain to the modern Arab-Israeli conflict.

Tantalus perhaps has the widest range of appearances in the modern world, including the comics of Eric Shanower, a family of waterfowl, Tantalus monkeys, a mountain range in the Pacific Northwest, an element in the periodic table, and a song by the progressive rock group Arena on its album “Pepper’s Ghost,” released in 2005.

The presentation concludes with a brief examination of a sonnet entitled “Yet Do I Marvel” by the Harlem Renaissance poet Countee Cullen, in which Cullen uses the myths of both Sisyphus and Tantalus as paradigms for his own condition as a black poet in early 20^th-century America.

Code: RC

A/V: Powerpoint (can provide own projector as well as computer)