El mito de Sísifo

The myth of Sisyphus is the foundational essay of the philosophy of the absurd, a capital work that revealed the great talent of Albert Camus. Published in 1942, the same year as The Stranger, it was one of the first works to reveal the author's intelligence and sensitivity to the public. The title of the essay refers to a character in Greek mythology who angered the gods by his extraordinary cunning and was sentenced to perpetually push a huge stone up the mountain. Upon reaching the top, the stone fell back into the valley, from where Sisyphus had to push it back to the top, and so on forever. Through this allegory, Camus discusses the question of suicide and the value of life, presenting Sisyphus as an image of man's useless and incessant effort. In this way he raises the philosophy of the absurd, according to which our lives are insignificant and have no more value than what we believe. The world being so futile, Camus asks, what alternative is there to suicide?