Source Verification: Sisyphus and the Boulder

Every claim below is either what a named ancient source attests, in its own line or section, or a point where the sources themselves disagree.

What the Sources Attest

What is the story of Sisyphus and the Boulder?

Sisyphus, a crafty king of Corinth, betrays Zeus's secret to the river god Asopus, cheats Death, and is finally made to push a boulder up a hill in Hades. Each time it nears the top, it rolls back down. Homer describes the labor; Apollodorus and Pausanias give the reason; a scholion on the Iliad adds the chaining of Death.

Source: Apollodorus, Library 1.9.3

Why does Sisyphus push a rock?

Apollodorus says it is his punishment for telling Asopus that Zeus had secretly carried off Aegina. Pausanias tells the same story and says Sisyphus first bargained for a spring on Acrocorinth, though he adds that he reports it only if anyone believes the story. Homer's Odyssey shows the labor and names no crime.

Source: Pausanias, Description of Greece 2.5.1

Where Accounts Differ

why-sisyphus-is-punished
who-freed-death
how-sisyphus-left-hades
camus-happiness-is-modern

The reason for the boulder differs by source. Homer (Odyssey 11.593-600) gives none. Apollodorus (Library 1.9.3) says Sisyphus betrayed to Asopus that Zeus had secretly carried off Aegina. Pausanias (2.5.1) adds that he first got a spring on Acrocorinth in return, and reports the punishment only if anyone believes the story.
The chaining of Death comes from the D scholia to Iliad 6.153, which cite Pherecydes (fr. 119 Fowler). This is a late compilation citing an earlier writer, so it is later, secondary evidence. It does not appear in Homer, Apollodorus or Pausanias.
Who frees Death differs. Frazer's note to Apollodorus 1.9.3, summarizing the scholion, has Ares release Death. The Topos Text translation of the scholion says Hades delivered Sisyphus to Death and freed him from his chains.
Sisyphus's return from the dead has two forms. Theognis (699-718 in Edmonds's numbering) says his wheedling words persuaded Persephone. The scholion says Hades let him go back to reprimand his wife Merope, and he refused to return. The two do not mention each other.
Camus's reading of the myth is a modern philosophical one. No ancient source states whether Sisyphus was happy or unhappy.

Sources

Primary sources

Homer, Odyssey 11.593-600
Apollodorus, Library 1.9.3
Pausanias, Description of Greece 2.5.1
Theognis, Elegiac Poems 699-718
D Scholia to the Iliad 6.153