Condemned stone-roller

• Each time the boulder neared the top it rolled back down and Sisyphus was forced to start again
• King of Ephyra, condemned to push a boulder uphill for ever
• Mythical stone-roller
• (Greek legend) a king in ancient Greece who offended Zeus and whose punishment was to roll a huge boulder to the top of a steep hill
• Rock and roll legend?

The Collaborative International Dictionary Word definitions in The Collaborative International Dictionary
Sisyphus \Sis"y*phus\, n. [L. Sisyphus, Sisyphus, fr. Gr. ????.] (Class. Myth.) A king of Corinth, son of [AE]olus, famed for his cunning. He was killed by Theseus, and in the lower world was condemned by Pluto to roll to the top of a hill a huge stone, ...

Wikipedia Word definitions in Wikipedia
Sisyphus was a king punished in Tartarus by being cursed to roll a huge boulder up a hill in Greek mythology. Sisyphus may also refer to: 1866 Sisyphus , an Apollo asteroid Sisyphus (beetle) , a genus of dung beetles Sisyphus (dialogue) , a spurious dialogue ...

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary Word definitions in Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
King of Corinth, famed as "the craftiest of men," he was condemned in the afterlife to roll uphill a stone which perpetually rolls down again; Greek Sisyphos , a name of unknown origin. Liddell & Scott suggest a reduplication of syphos "the crafty" (with ...