--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: 'Yea and I beheld Sisyphus in strong…" description: "\"'Yea and I beheld Sisyphus in strong torment, grasping a monstrous stone with both his hands. He was pressing thereat with hands and feet, and trying t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/216/homer-357_brows_yea-and-i-beheld-sisyphus-in-strong-torm_780933.jpg" --- # 'Yea and I beheld Sisyphus in strong torment, grasping a… ![“'Yea and I beheld Sisyphus in strong torment, grasping a monstrous stone with both his hands. He was pressing thereat with hands and feet, and trying to roll the stone upward toward the brow of the hill. But oft as he was about to hurl it over the top, the weight would drive him back, so once…” quote by Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/216/homer-357_brows_yea-and-i-beheld-sisyphus-in-strong-torm_780933.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/216/homer-357_brows_yea-and-i-beheld-sisyphus-in-strong-torm_780933.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/216/homer-357_brows_yea-and-i-beheld-sisyphus-in-strong-torm_780933.jpg) > “'Yea and I beheld Sisyphus in strong torment, grasping a monstrous stone with both his hands. He was pressing thereat with hands and feet, and trying to roll the stone upward toward the brow of the hill. But oft as he was about to hurl it over the top, the weight would drive him back, so once again to the plain rolled the stone, the shameless thing. And he once more kept heaving and straining, and the sweat the while was pouring down his limbs, and the dust rose upwards from his head.” [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Sisyphus struggles endlessly, his effort repeatedly undone, symbolizing futile labor and perseverance against inevitable defeat. **In simple terms:** Endless struggle that repeats despite effort. Key Takeaway Accept limits, find meaning in effort. Themes perseverance futility human condition Mood reflective somber Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - personal challenges - workplace burnout - creative projects - physical training Key Concepts mythology existentialism Questions to Reflect On - What gives your struggle meaning? - Can you find joy in the process? A Different Perspective Even in endless toil, purpose can be found beyond success. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beheld Sisyphus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beheld-sisyphus-6016923/) [Brows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brows/) [Dust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dust/) [Feet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feet/) [Grasping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grasping/) [Hands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hands/) [Hands and feet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hands-and-feet/) [Heaving Straining](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heaving-straining-6016924/) [Hills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hills/) [Kept Heaving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kept-heaving-5563663/) [Limbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/limbs/) [Monstrous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/monstrous/) [Over the top](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/over-the-top/) [Pouring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pouring/) [Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rose/) [Sad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sad/) [Sadness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sadness/) [Shameless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shameless/) [Sisyphus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sisyphus/) [Stones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stones/) [Strong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strong/) [Strong Torment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/strong-torment-6016925/) [Sweat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sweat/) [Torment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/torment/) [Torment Grasping](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/torment-grasping-6016922/) [Trying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying/) [Weight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weight/) ## Related quotes > [We watch'd her breathing through the night, Her breathing soft and low, As in her breast the wave of life Kept heaving to and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hood/we-watch-d-her-breathing-through-the-night-her-breathing-soft-and-low/) [Thomas Hood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hood/) > [“Hades is evolved to the highest state of simplicity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-ledgard/hades-is-evolved-to-the-highest-state-of-simplicity/) [J. M. Ledgard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-ledgard/) > [Society is a long series of uprising ridges, which from the first to the last offer no valley of repose. Whenever you take your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-bulwer-lytton-1st-baron-lytton/society-is-a-long-series-of-uprising-ridges-which-from-the-first-to/) [Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-bulwer-lytton-1st-baron-lytton/) > [There is no longer a single idea explaining everything, but an infinite number of essences giving a meaning to an infinite number of objects.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/there-is-no-longer-a-single-idea-explaining-everything-but-an/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Few tasks are more like the torture of Sisyphus than housework, with its endless repetition: the clean becomes soiled, the soiled is made clean,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/few-tasks-are-more-like-the-torture-of-sisyphus-than-housework-with/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [Just about everything in this world is easier said than done, with the exception of 'systematically assisting Sisyphus's stealthy, syst-susceptible sister,' which is easier…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/just-about-everything-in-this-world-is-easier-said-than-done-with-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Amongst the learned the lawyers claim first place, the most self-satisfied class of people, as they roll their rock of Sisyphus and string together…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desiderius-erasmus/amongst-the-learned-the-lawyers-claim-first-place-the-most-self/) [Desiderius Erasmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desiderius-erasmus/) > [For ever, I shall be a stranger to myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/for-ever-i-shall-be-a-stranger-to-myself/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [Thinking is learning all over again how to see, directing one's consciousness, making of every image a privileged place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/thinking-is-learning-all-over-again-how-to-see-directing-one-s/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [...Any authentic creation is a gift to the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/any-authentic-creation-is-a-gift-to-the-future/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [“But the way an eloi has to darken her eyelashes every morning, cover her skin with colored cream, powder her nose and forehead all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johanna-sinisalo/but-the-way-an-eloi-has-to-darken-her-eyelashes-every-morning-cover/) [Johanna Sinisalo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johanna-sinisalo/) > [This divorce between man and his life, the actor and his setting, is properly the feeling of absurdity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/this-divorce-between-man-and-his-life-the-actor-and-his-setting-is/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [What I believe to be true I must therefore preserve. What seems to me so obvious, even against me, I must support.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/what-i-believe-to-be-true-i-must-therefore-preserve-what-seems-to-me/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [All systems of morality are based on the idea that an action has consequences that legitimize or cancel it. A mind imbued with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/all-systems-of-morality-are-based-on-the-idea-that-an-action-has/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [“I have named them the hounds of Sisyphus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/i-have-named-them-the-hounds-of-sisyphus/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) ## More by Homer > [He knew the things that were and the things that would be and the things that had been before.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/he-knew-the-things-that-were-and-the-things-that-would-be-and-the/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [“Few sons are like their fathers--most are worse, few better.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/few-sons-are-like-their-fathers-most-are-worse-few-better/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, as it pleases him, for he can do all things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/the-lord-gives-and-the-lord-takes-away-as-it-pleases-him-for-he-can/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [“Sing in me, Muse, and through me tell the story of that man skilled in all ways of contending, the wanderer, harried for years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/sing-in-me-muse-and-through-me-tell-the-story-of-that-man-skilled-in/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [Hateful to me as are the gates of hell, Is he who, hiding one thing in his heart, Utters another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/hateful-to-me-as-are-the-gates-of-hell-is-he-who-hiding-one-thing-in/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [“And Zeus said: “Hera, you can choose some other time for paying your visit to Oceanus — for the present let us devote ourselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/and-zeus-said-hera-you-can-choose-some-other-time-for-paying-your/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [Ruin, eldest daughter of Zeus, she blinds us all, that fatal madness—she with those delicate feet of hers, never touching the earth, gliding over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/ruin-eldest-daughter-of-zeus-she-blinds-us-all-that-fatal-madness-she/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [“Scepticism is as much the result of knowledge, as knowledge is of scepticism. To be content with what we at present know, is, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/scepticism-is-as-much-the-result-of-knowledge-as-knowledge-is-of/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [Boy, everyone is stupid except me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/boy-everyone-is-stupid-except-me/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [“With that the dream departed, leaving him there, his heart racing with hopes that would not come to pass. He thought he would take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/with-that-the-dream-departed-leaving-him-there-his-heart-racing-with/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [Tell me, O Muse, of that ingenious hero who travelled far and wide after he had sacked the famous town of Troy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/tell-me-o-muse-of-that-ingenious-hero-who-travelled-far-and-wide/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [Ah, beer, my one weakness. My Achille's heel, if you will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/ah-beer-my-one-weakness-my-achille-s-heel-if-you-will/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [My life is more to me than all the wealth of Ilius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/my-life-is-more-to-me-than-all-the-wealth-of-ilius/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [Being popular is the most important thing in the world!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/being-popular-is-the-most-important-thing-in-the-world/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) > [Urge him with truth to frame his fair replies And sure he will for Wisdom never lies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/urge-him-with-truth-to-frame-his-fair-replies-and-sure-he-will-for/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) [Explore all 639 Homer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) ## More Brows quotes > [If wrinkles must be written on our brows, let them not be written upon the heart. The spirit should never grow old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/if-wrinkles-must-be-written-on-our-brows-let-them-not-be-written-upon/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [Strong brows is what I have, and I embrace them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-connelly/strong-brows-is-what-i-have-and-i-embrace-them/) [Jennifer Connelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-connelly/) > [Keep your brow game on point and always pack a lip gloss.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tinashe/keep-your-brow-game-on-point-and-always-pack-a-lip-gloss/) [Tinashe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tinashe/) > [There is no greater injustice than to wring your profits from the sweat of another man's brow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/there-is-no-greater-injustice-than-to-wring-your-profits-from-the/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [I've been blessed with good eyebrows, and I've worked very hard for them. Get a good brow pencil, fill them in a bit, make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zendaya/i-ve-been-blessed-with-good-eyebrows-and-i-ve-worked-very-hard-for/) [Zendaya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zendaya/) > [If our inward griefs were written on our brows, how many who are envied now would be pitied. It would seem that they had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pietro-metastasio/if-our-inward-griefs-were-written-on-our-brows-how-many-who-are/) [Pietro Metastasio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pietro-metastasio/) > [Some people criticize me for using sources that are a bit low brow (this quote is from 'Gladiator') but you know what? 'I'm just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banksy/some-people-criticize-me-for-using-sources-that-are-a-bit-low-brow/) [Banksy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banksy/) > [She stretched out her hand, saying, “Vernon! My dear, what a delightful surprise!” “What’s surprising about it?” he enquired, lifting his black brows. “Didn’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgette-heyer/she-stretched-out-her-hand-saying-vernon-my-dear-what-a-delightful/) [Georgette Heyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgette-heyer/) > [When I know I have a huge shoot, I’ll just go into the sauna and steam out my face. Product-wise, I don’t really do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chanel-iman/when-i-know-i-have-a-huge-shoot-i-ll-just-go-into-the-sauna-and-steam/) [Chanel Iman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chanel-iman/) > [Angels are bright still, though the brightest fell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/angels-are-bright-still-though-the-brightest-fell/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [I ain't the captain of the yacht, but I'm on the boat; I ain't acting what I'm not, knowing that I don't. You niggaz…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beanie-sigel/i-ain-t-the-captain-of-the-yacht-but-i-m-on-the-boat-i-ain-t-acting/) [Beanie Sigel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beanie-sigel/) > [Senseless is the breast and cold Which relenting love would fold; Bloodless are the veins and chill Which the pulse of pain did fill;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/percy-bysshe-shelley/senseless-is-the-breast-and-cold-which-relenting-love-would-fold/) [Percy Bysshe Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/percy-bysshe-shelley/) > [When book and reader's furrowed brow meet, it isn't always the book that's stupid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-h-gass/when-book-and-reader-s-furrowed-brow-meet-it-isn-t-always-the-book/) [William H. Gass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-h-gass/) > [Certain media attracts more pulpy or low-brow things, especially when they're young. Finding the best story, in any particular medium, is going to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corey-stoll/certain-media-attracts-more-pulpy-or-low-brow-things-especially-when/) [Corey Stoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corey-stoll/) > [I have never done anything to my brows, though sometimes I tweeze the intersection of the left and right brow, which is either a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leandra-medine/i-have-never-done-anything-to-my-brows-though-sometimes-i-tweeze-the/) [Leandra Medine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leandra-medine/) [Browse all 336 Brows quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brows/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "'Yea and I beheld Sisyphus in strong torment, grasping a monstrous stone with both his hands. He was pressing thereat with hands and feet, and trying to roll the stone upward toward the brow of the hill. But oft as he was about to hurl it over the top, the weight would drive him back, so once again to the plain rolled the stone, the shameless thing. And he once more kept heaving and straining, and the sweat the while was pouring down his limbs, and the dust rose upwards from his head.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Homer" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/yea-and-i-beheld-sisyphus-in-strong-torment-grasping-a-monstrous/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Brows" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/yea-and-i-beheld-sisyphus-in-strong-torment-grasping-a-monstrous/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/216/homer-357_brows_yea-and-i-beheld-sisyphus-in-strong-torm_780933.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/216/homer-357_brows_yea-and-i-beheld-sisyphus-in-strong-torm_780933.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/216/homer-357_brows_yea-and-i-beheld-sisyphus-in-strong-torm_780933.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“'Yea and I beheld Sisyphus in strong torment, grasping a monstrous stone with both his hands. He was…” — Homer", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Homer", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "'Yea and I beheld Sisyphus in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/yea-and-i-beheld-sisyphus-in-strong-torment-grasping-a-monstrous/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/yea-and-i-beheld-sisyphus-in-strong-torment-grasping-a-monstrous/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```