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Sisyphus founded, according to some sources , the city of Ephyra, which was the original name of Corinth. Although However, other sources credit the foundation of the city town to another mythological character. Corinth was to become one of the most important in all the Hellenic World and later founded many colonies. Sisyphus had a great vision , and he promoted navigation and trade. Later Corinth was to become famous for its merchants and ships. Later , ages were to credit Sisyphus with the growth and prosperity of Corinth .<ref>Graves, Robert. Greek Myths (London, Pelican, 1985), p. 113</ref>. However, while he had many virtues'' he had also a great many vices. He was power-hungry, greedy, and cruel and is often portrayed as a tyrant. The son of Aeolous ruled with an iron fist and killed anyone who deified him. In ancient Greek it was considered essential that hospitality be extended to travelers and strangers, this was a characteristic of a civilized person. Moreover, travelers were protected by Zeus and anyone who ill-treated them was disrespecting the Olympian. Sisyphus was as greedy as he was cruel, and he often killed and robbed those who visited his palace. Anyone who asked for hospitality in Corinth was often murdered and his body disappeared. This was an act of hubris or disrespect against Zeus and he could not let the king go unpunished. However, the king of Ephyra was able to assuage Zeus, who spared his life. The king was so crafty that he could even get his way with the King of the Gods. Sisyphus began to covet the throne of his brother Salmoneus, who was king of Eilis. He even consulted the Oracle at Delphi on the best way to take his brother's's crown. Sisyphus came up with a terrible plan he first seduced Salmoneus daughter Tyro, (his niece) and had children with her. Then he encouraged her to join with him in deposing her father. Tyro was so enraged that she killed all her children. Sisyphus witnessed Zeus carry off the daughter of Aulous, a river god. He told the god what had happened on condition that he provided an eternal spring of water on the acropolis of Corinth. Aulous agreed and the city ruled by Sisyphus had a perennial supply of water. Then Zeus found out and he was so enraged that he ordered the God of Death, Thanatos, to take Sisyphus down to Tartarus, the eternal abyss, a kind of Greek Hell. When Sisyphus seeks Death approaching he immediately comes up with a plan. He sees the chains that are meant to bind him and he pretends to be interested in them, but then he suddenly binds Death. As a result, he manages to evade being hauled off to the Tartarus. It also meant that no human could die and people became immortal. Ares, the God of War was not pleased with this and he freed Thanthos and as a result, people began to die again. In another version of the myth Hades, the God of the Underworld is bound by Sisyphus and he was freed by the Olympian Gods <ref>Homer, The Iliad, V</ref>. Because of his actions, Sisyphus knew that he would suffer greatly after death. So, he came up with a plan, he told his loving wife that when he died that he was to be thrown unburied and naked. This was a terrible thing in the eyes of the Greeks and was considered to be impious and his faithful spouse initially resisted this request. His wife did what she was told and when he died Sisyphus ended on the River Styx, which formed the boundary between life and death. Here he went to see Persephone, the wife of Hades, the god of the underworld <ref>Pausanias, Description of Greece, vi</ref>. Sisyphus then w complained to her that his wife had buried him without due respect and had ignored the burial rites that had been ordained by the gods. Persephone was shocked and she permitted the king to return to the realm of the living. Sisyphus, ever resourceful had deceived the goddess, and he had once again cheated death. The king returned to Corinth and resumed his life. He began to boast that he was even smarter than the king of the Gods and his arrogance knew no bounds. The king began to terrorize the populace of Corinth and killed anyone who opposed him. However, he had offended the Olympian gods one too many times. Zeus was no longer prepared to tolerate Sisyphus and in one account he ordered Hermes, the Messenger of the Gods, to haul him back to Tartarus <ref> Pausanias, vi</ref>.