For everyone wondering what's going on with Guwon, I've written a few posts that explain my theory on where he came from. I don't have much to update since the last few chapters have been all seggs, but I still stand by my theory that Guwon is Sisyphus from Ancient Greek mythology. He was a fallen king who was punished by Zeus and Hades to push a huge boulder up a hill for all eternity, but now he's lost his memory and is learning everything again. Here are my posts from before (they're links within links): https://www.mangago.zone/home/mangatopic/18958516/
Old World Sisyphus was a badass genius human barbarian who cheated death multiple times and tricked actual gods like Zeus and Persephone. New World Sisyphus (Guwon) seems to have lost his memory of his previous life due to an unknown incident (that I'm sure we'll learn about in coming chapters) and is just doing what he does best, which in this case is ruling over a little society of his own creation. I'm really excited to see where this manhwa goes because I love the connection to Greek Mythology!
Sorry if I get too wordy, I just can't stop once I get started (⌒▽⌒)
I just started reading the other day and couldn't stop! I freakin love this story!
I was super excited for this episode cuz Guwon is naked and I can inspect him to find more clues as to his story as Sisyphus...then the D came up and I'm like GODDAMN
Notes on the nakedness:
* He's got a large scar on his right eye, probably from when he was a mortal king
* His eyes are colorless - maybe from being in eternal darkness for so long?
* He's got two scar-like tattoos on both ankles, as well as the one on his neck. My theory is he tried to get out of the boulder-pushing punishment, but since he's immortal they just reattached, but left scars
* His arms and biceps are covered in black tats with two rings near the elbow area - no theories on that just yet. Could be from when he was mortal also?
* He's got a D that could double as a war hammer
* He's prone to nosebleeds when said war hammer is in use
All signs still point to Guwon being Sisyphus! I'm workin' on more theories (⌒▽⌒)
Aghhdgggg can't wait to read your insights on the next week's episode, I don't want to spoiler anything to you from yesterday's one, but your theory seems to be about right!
I can't wait to read it and add more pieces to my theory puzzle!!
So I'm a literary nerd and a writer, and I've written a few posts on what I think is happening in this manhwa (you can read one here if you'd like https://www.mangago.zone/home/mangatopic/18942324/), but for the sake of brevity I'll just say that I think Guwon is actually the mythical Sisyphus himself, risen from the underworld after somehow getting that massive enchanted boulder up the enormous hill. I'm sure you've heard of the legend at least - the guy that was cursed to push a boulder up a hill for all eternity? That guy is Guwon - and he's trying to build a life after completing the worst punishment imaginable. He finally got the boulder up the hill somehow, and he checks on it routinely to make sure it's not going anywhere.
The final lines in The Myth of Sisyphus (by Albert Camus) are: "I leave Sisyphus at the foot of the mountain! One always finds one’s burden again. But Sisyphus teaches the higher fidelity that negates the gods and raises rocks. He too concludes that all is well. This universe henceforth without a master seems to him neither sterile nor futile. Each atom of that stone, each mineral flake of that night filled mountain, in itself forms a world. The struggle itself toward the heights is enough to fill a man’s heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy."
I think that's exactly what the author is doing in this manhwa - imagining Sisyphus as HAPPY! His memory has been wiped, and there are no longer battles to be waged. He's building his life anew and learning everything again - what people are all about and why they do the weird things they do. Like kissing - why do people put their mouths on each other's? To someone who doesn't know any better it would seem pretty gross - almost enough to make someone barf up their dinner! But after learning WHY they do it, the feeling is actually pleasant - something the'd like to do more and more.
A good question would be - "why tell this story in a yaoi webtoon?", and I think the answer is simple: Why the hell not? Let Sisyphus...I mean Guwon...be HAPPY!
Ive seen you a bunch of times and only now properly read the whole thing and its actually so smart...a bit more understandable why he barfed after that kiss and all and it does make sense, ive seen someone else also say he might js be Bipolar or smt like that but we'll just have to see how the story goes...
Damn, never would've thought to see the absolute goat Camus get mentioned in the context of BL, but here we go, and I love it.
Hon, you’re smart alright? I like that. I’m familiar with the boulder rock that was being pushed up the hill, I just can’t recall but now that you mentioned it I was like heck heah thats ittt
Hon, you’re smart alright? I like that. I’m familiar with the boulder rock that was being pushed up the hill, I just can’t recall but now that you mentioned it I was like heck yeah thats ittt. Keep doing what you do pls, my husband was also a writer hehe(⌒▽⌒)
I love your reply and want to add onto it! I'm not a literature nerd (I can barely read) but I am a Greek Mythology nerd and I think your theory is right. Long story shorf, Sisyphus was supposed to die as a punishment but he cheated death. Instead of getting chained and brought to the underworld, he managed to trick and chain Thanatos, the God of Death instead. Because of this, people on Earth stopped
I love your reply and want to add onto it! I'm not a literature nerd (I can barely read) but I am a Greek Mythology nerd and I think your theory is right. Long story short, in Greek Myth Sisyphus was supposed to die as a punishment but he cheated death. Instead of getting chained and brought to the underworld, he managed to trick and chain Thanatos, the God of Death instead. Because of this, people on Earth stopped dying. In the first chapter of this manhwa we saw how people suddenly came back to life, and somehow became "immortal". The next part is interesting too. Because Sisyphus cheated death and people stopped dying, Ares the God of War got mad and made the world chaotic and almost like Hell, just like in this manhwa with how society suddenly started falling apart. Long story short, Guwon is Sisyphus and causes humans to stop dying, and then the Gods got mad and punished humans and the Earth afterward!! Sorry if I did a horrible job explaining but I wanted everyone to know! Also, there are some different versions of the Myth of Sisyphus, but this one matches the story the most!!
Thank you!! Writing is my passion, and I'm using it to avoid studying for my math final hehe It's just such an interesting subject once you see all the parallels!
Yay!! I'm so glad you see the parallels too - I started by researching Sisyphus and it all just fell into place, including the "no more death" scenario that's happening outside the town. I know there's gonna be more to come and I can't wait to read it all!
Its all fun discovering things. Glad you’re enjoying what you do. Goodluck on your finals dear ٩(๑❛ᴗ❛๑)۶
SO I've been researching a lot because I love Greek Mythology. Sisyphus was a king in Ancient Greece whose city looked a lot like "Stillwater Town". Sisyphus's castle was at the very top of the mountain, while everyone else lived in rings circling the top going down (just like in this town). He was incredibly clever, vain, and ruthless - he thought himself to be on the same level as Zeus, and we all know what happens when someone comes for the throne.
Little time skip, but let's just say Sisyphus got in trouble with Zeus, Hades and Persephone for tricking them and skirting death on multiple occasions. In the main part of his myth, he conned Thanatos (basically the Grim Reaper) into chaining himself to a rock, thereby creating a "no more death" type situation. This pissed off Ares, who eventually freed Thanatos and sent Sisyphus to the underworld for Hades to deal with, who punished him to push a boulder up a hill for eternity and enchanting the boulder to roll back down every time it'd reach the top.
There are so many parallels between the Myth of Sisyphus and The Hounds of Sisyphus that it's definitely worth a second read. If you know the myth you'll be able to see all the references to it in the manhwa, like in the beginning when people just stop dying out of nowhere. Then in Chapter 1 we see Guwon's hand as he climbs up from underground, and when we see him taking Jinwoo on a very long hike only to stare at a boulder sitting on top of a mountain in the distance - he says "I just like to come back and make sure it's still there".
The parallels are all really interesting - the only thing I can't quite figure out just yet is the character's memory lapse. I'm sure we'll find out more as we go on! I've got more, but I've already written so much - if you've made it this far thank you for reading!! ヾ(☆▽☆)
Thank you a lot for this, I really enjoy mythology and reading your findings, made me find the story parallels look quite intriguing.
You just jump started a new hyperfixation.
knowing the story of Sisyphus really brings this manhwa to another level and the author is doing a great job of combining the two. I can't wait to see where things go next!
I also just searched up the meaning of sisyphus and I must say I need more theories from you this makes so much sense.
Yeah it absolutely does! I'm not very familiar with the tale itself, so I can't really form a proper theory about what happened. I would love to hear out any insights or theories you could have about it if you want to share!
I've been keeping notes whenever a new chapter comes out so I'll have more theories soon!
Yayyyy, I'll keep an eye out for your comments then!
Same
If we're providing recs for hiatus downtime, I'd like to throw one of my all-time favs into the mix -
Dark Heaven: https://www.mangago.zone/read-manga/dark_heaven/
I love this author so much and this story is highly underrated. It actually tackles the problem of gay hatered (sorry - couldn't think of a better phrase) in a way that really hits home. Just a suggestion! (▰˘◡˘▰)
Masterpiece ヾ(☆▽☆)
do you mean homophobia (instead of gay hatred)
That's the word I was looking for!
Shin's trying his very best to act like Jake did in the beginning - it kinda reminds me of a kid pretending to be a cop. Cute as hell, but you know no one's gonna let run around and actually do it by himself.
I just love this manhwa so much, I never want it to end!
I've been researching (cuz I love to), and Sisyphus was a king in Ancient Greece who was punished by Zeus and Hades, forced to push a boulder up a hill for eternity only for the boulder to roll back down to the bottom where he'd have to start all over again.
** In chapter 1, amid the chaos we see Guwon's hand reaching up from under the ground, like he's crawling out of Hades/Hell
** In Chapter 3 Guwon takes Jinwoo on a hike to a very remote place to stare at a boulder on top of a mountain, then says "What if it moved and crashed back down?"
Very clever Author-Nim! I'll share more notes as I find them - I started re-reading to make sense of it all and I've already got quite a bit (๑•ㅂ•)و✧
ily for sharing this
Oh my gosh yess we need more people like you
ty!! I have more but it's getting into possible spoiler territory if I share too much
so is guwon sisyphus in this metaphor or…?
I believe that that Guwon is Sisyphus in a very real sense. Part of his legend involves him tricking Hades into chaining himself to a rock in the underworld which lead to a 'no more death' situation (like we see in the beginning of the manhwa - people can't die anymore). This then pissed of Ares because none of the people he was fighting were dying, so someone figured it out and unchained Hades, then they punished Sisyphus by making him roll that boulder up a hill for eternity.
There are also a lot more references to his muscles being "hard as a rock" and the fact that he's extremely cold (like a rock). The first time Jinwoo walks to Guwon's house he comments on the incredible number of stairs saying "Why would anyone want to climb these stairs that seem to go on forever??" - Someone who has been pushing a huge boulder up a steep hill for who knows how many centuries, that's who!
There's more too, I can keep going if y'all would like!
Yes please, please do! I found one of your latest comments and now plowing through the rest xD
Andrew was raised in a horrible environment with a horrible father, stalked and forced into the spotlight when he was a child, so he's basically still a child in a man's body. His emotional development isn't anywhere near his physical...ahem...size. I think Luke is good for Andrew and will over time help him be more outgoing. I'm still rooting for both of em!
Gyuwon you dumbass, you could have just gotten together with the Yoons and fed Chuck to the fishes. Boom, over. (I know this is all to add duhRAMA into the story, but it feels sloppy AF)