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The Myth of Sisyphus

Renaissance Theories of Human Perfectibility

Elliott M. Simon

The myth of Sisyphus symbolizes the archetypal process of becoming without the consolation of absolute achievement. It is a poignant reflection of idealized aspirations and actual limitations of the human condition. It is also a prominent framing text for the interpretation of classical and patristic literature, medieval allegorical and alchemical interpretations of mythology, and humanist philosophical, educational, and utopian ideologies, and erotic and heroic theories of human perfectibility. Sisyphus defines the modalities of human transcendence in classical and Christian terms; he is the personification of the unrequited lover; and he is the embodiment of the aspirant renaissance hero.

University Press Copublishing Division / Fairleigh Dickinson University Press

Pages: 614 • Trim: 6¾ x 9¾

978-1-61147-348-3 • Hardback • June 2007 • $119.00 • (£92.00)

Subjects: Philosophy / Reference

The Myth of Sisyphus

Renaissance Theories of Human Perfectibility

Hardback

Summary

The myth of Sisyphus symbolizes the archetypal process of becoming without the consolation of absolute achievement. It is a poignant reflection of idealized aspirations and actual limitations of the human condition. It is also a prominent framing text for the interpretation of classical and patristic literature, medieval allegorical and alchemical interpretations of mythology, and humanist philosophical, educational, and utopian ideologies, and erotic and heroic theories of human perfectibility. Sisyphus defines the modalities of human transcendence in classical and Christian terms; he is the personification of the unrequited lover; and he is the embodiment of the aspirant renaissance hero.

Details

University Press Copublishing Division / Fairleigh Dickinson University Press

Pages: 614 • Trim: 6¾ x 9¾

978-1-61147-348-3 • Hardback • June 2007 • $119.00 • (£92.00)

Subjects: Philosophy / Reference

Author

Elliott M. Simon teaches English in the Department of English at the University of Haifa and has taught at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Oranim College, and as a visiting professor at Northwestern University and at Montaigne University (Bordeaux III).

The Myth of Sisyphus

Renaissance Theories of Human Perfectibility

Elliott M. Simon

The Myth of Sisyphus

Renaissance Theories of Human Perfectibility

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