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Atlas is commonly remembered as the man who bore the weight of the heavens as his ultimate punishment by Zeus. There’s more to his story than just this one depiction of him though. Altas can be recognized as the great Titan god of endurance because of his outstanding robustness. Yet, he also falls under the title of the god of astronomy for teaching humans how to navigate and measure the seasons using the planets and stars up above. Overall, Atlas is a powerful being that has so much more to him than just his retribution. (“Atlas” Theoi.com 1)

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Atlas has a huge family tree to him. First off, Iapetus and Clymene were the parents of Atlas and three other children. Those being Epimetheus, Menoetius and Prometheus, his three brothers. He wed one of the Oceanids, her name was Pleione. His lover gave birth to his children;  the Pleiades, the Hyades, Hyas, the Hesperides and Calypso (“The Titan Atlas in Greek Mythology” Greek Legends and Myths 1).

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The Titan Atlas

Atlas is one of the most famous figures from Greek mythology and the image of his holding up a globe is still a powerful one today. Many people will not realise though that Atlas was a god of the Greek pantheon, and the one time antagonist of .

Many tales are told about Atlas in Greek mythology, and many of these stories are contradictory in nature.

The Family Line of Atlas

Atlas was also named father of the beautiful Pleiades by the Oceanid Pleione, and the Titan was also named father occasionally of the Hyades, Hyas, the Hesperides and Calypso.

The Atlas Family Tree

The God Atlas in the Titanomachy

Epimetheus, declined to fight; Prometheus having foreseen the result of the war.

The result of the war was inevitable, for despite the immense strength of Atlas, eventually the Titans were outgunned when Zeus recruited the Cyclopes and Hecatonchires to his side.

The Punishment of Atlas

After the war, Zeus punished those who fought against him, and this meant that the majority of male Titans were incarcerated in Tartarus, but Zeus dished out a special punishment for Atlas.

During the Titanomachy, , the heavens, had been shaken and could no longer hold himself aloft. So Atlas was punished to hole the celestial globe in place for all eternity. This the Titan did from a position within the Atlas Mountains of North Africa.

Despite the many depictions of Atlas, it was the celestial globe that Atlas would hold aloft, not the Earth.

Atlas and the Hesperides - John Singer Sargent (1856-1925) - PD-life-70

Atlas and Heracles

Heracles realises that he is in a position that could see him trapped for eternity holding up the heavens. So Heracles agrees to Atlas' suggestions, but asks Atlas to hold up the heavens briefly whilst he adjusts his cloak to make himself more comfortable. Atlas stupidly agrees, and so Atlas soon finds himself in the position that had occupied him for so long, and Heracles had no plans on being in that position ever again.

In alternative versions of the mythological tale, Atlas simply tells Heracles where the Garden of Hera is, and how to get pass Ladon and the Hesperides. In another version of the same story, Heracles did release Atlas from his punishment, by building the Pillars of Heracles to hold the heavens aloft.

Atlas and Perseus

A second famous tale about Atlas sees the Titan encountering another Greek hero, Perseus. Perseus was on the return leg to Seriphos with the head of Medusa safely in his possession. Perseus decided to rest by Atlas, but the Titan was in a far from hospitable mood. An angry Perseus therefore removed the head of from its satchel and the gaze of the Gorgon turned Atlas to stone.

The stories of Atlas and Heracles and Atlas and Perseus cannot be reconciled though, for Perseus was the grandfather of Heracles, and the Titan was not petrified in the time of Heracles.

Atlas Turned to Stone - Edward Burne-Jones (1833-1898) - PD-art-100

Differing Atlases in Greek Mythology

This King Atlas was a master of astronomy, mathematics and philosophy, and it is sometimes claimed that it was this Atlas visited by Perseus.

The skilled King of Mauretania though was an inspirational figure, and the Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator would make allusion to his Atlas during the 16th century. When Mercator published his work, he depicted a man holding up a terrestrial globe, causing an everlasting confusion about the role of the Titan Atlas.

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Atlas is one of the most famous figures from Greek mythology and the image of his holding up a globe is still a powerful one today. Many people will not realise though that Atlas was a god of the Greek pantheon, and the one time antagonist of .

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Atlas has been known to have unbelievable amounts of strength and resilience as we see him use in paintings and sculptures. Most might have looked at a piece of artwork showing Atlas off as the man mighty enough to carry the heavens for years and years on end. These features were so enhanced that “[d]uring the war against Olympians, Cronus made Atlas their leader, mostly because of his war skills…and durability” (Šimon 1). Other than his toughness, there isn’t really any other supernatural powers he possesses.

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Many of us are familiar with stories from the Greek myths. However, our knowledge of them is often imperfect. Many of us hear the story of Atlas, the Titan, but few of us know the full story. The story of Atlas and his fate is one of the most important in all of Classical Antiquity. There are many variations of the myth of Atlas and some of them are discussed here.

It is likely that the story was based on a Pelasgian myth, a myth belonging to the original inhabitants of Greece. Most myths relate that Atlas was the son of Iapetus, a Titan. Iapetus was the son of Uranus and Gaia, and one of the divine beings who ruled the world before the reign of the Olympian deities. The identity of Atlas's mother is not known but it may have been an Ocean nymph.

Atlas was very strong and one of his brothers was Prometheus. In some accounts, he had many children, mainly daughters. The Titan fathered many nymphs including the Hesperides and the Pleiades. The nymph Calypso, who played an important role in the Odyssey of Homer was also his daughter.

Atlas was to play a very important role in the Titanomachy. This was a ten-year struggle between the old and the new gods in Greek mythology for the control of the cosmos. On one side was Cronus and his family members, known as the Titans, and on the other side were the Olympians, the children of Cronus, led by Zeus.

Atlas sided with the Titans and proved himself to be one of Zeus's greatest foes. According to the myth, the Olympians feared him greatly. However, in the end, the Olympians were triumphant, and they utterly vanquished the Titans. Zeus imprisoned Cronus and the other Titans in Tartarus, which in Greek mythology is the underworld or hell.

A misconception arose in later centuries that he was condemned to hold up the earth. This was probably a result of Renaissance-era artworks, based on misinterpretations of the original myths. The Greeks, who lived in a pre-scientific age, believed that Atlas held up the sky in the area where modern Morocco is located. Many believe that the Atlas Mountains are named after the mythological figure, so cruelly punished by Zeus.
Other Versions of the Greek myth
Myths are never fixed, and they are constantly changing and growing. There are a number of myths about Atlas. According to Plato, Atlas was the first king of Atlantis, the legendary kingdom. However, Plato's myth is a political fable and the story of Atlantis was designed to illustrate the political hubris of kingdoms and city-states.

Another well-known story involving Atlas appears in Ovid. In this, he is a king in a distant land and is visited by the great hero Perseus, who was a son of Zeus. When Atlas heard this, he grew fearful as he was told a prophecy that a son of Zeus would kill him. Thus, he refused Perseus hospitality, which was a serious transgression in Greek culture. Perseus, in retaliation, turned Atlas into a huge block of stone or a mountain. This is believed to have been an origin myth that explained the origin of the Atlas Mountains.

In another myth, Hercules, for one of his labours, had to steal the golden apples in Hera's Garden. This was guarded by Atlas' daughters. Hercules asked Atlas to steal the apples and in return, he would hold up the sky for him, for a period of time. Atlas kept his word and stole the apples. In one version of the myth a grateful Hercules built the 'Pillars of Hercules,' and these were used to hold up the heavens and free the Titan. In another version of the myth, Atlas tried to trick Hercules into holding up the sky permanently, but the hero was too cleaver and escaped.
Atlas, the First Astronomer
Possibly, because of Atlas's association with the heavens, he was widely regarded as the first astronomer. In some myths, he is the inventor of the first celestial sphere or body and other astronomical instruments.

The myth of Atlas is an enduring one. The popularity of the myth can be seen in its continuing influence. It is widely believed that the name of the Atlantic Ocean is derived from the name of the Titan. This is because his mythical kingdom of Atlantis was located in this great body of water.

In the 17 th century, cartographers were mapping the world. The great cartographer Gerardus Mercator (1512-1594) published a collection of maps and he named it in honor of the Titan. Hence, the name for a book of maps is Atlas.

The story of Atlas is one that still fascinates people and remains popular. The story of the Titan was used by the Greeks to explain why the sky was able to stay in place as well as the origin of astronomy. He also played an important role in other myths including that of Atlantis. The figure of the Titan holding up the sky or earth is one that is very influential and has inspired many artists.

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The Myth of Atlas: Holding up the Heavens

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Written by Edward Whelan, Contributing Writer, Classical Wisdom Many of us are familiar with stories from the Greek myths. However, our knowledge of them is often imperfect. Many of us hear the story of Atlas, the Titan, but few of us know the full story.

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There aren’t many symbols out there for Atlas. Though, one major emblem that can be seen in most if not all depictions of him. This being the globe people see him hold up in statues. Many misinterpret it as the Earth but this is simply not true. In reality, it’s the heavens or more accurately named the Celestial Sphere (“The Titan Atlas in Greek Mythology” Greek Legends and Myths 1).

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Ptolemaic System, Geocentric Model, 1531 - Stock Image - C030/4464

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Captioned: The cosmographical glasse, containing the pleasant principles of cosmographie, geographie, hydrographie, or navigation. Compiled by William Cuningham Doctor in Physicke, 1531. Science Source/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

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Atlas and his brother Menoetius both fought against the Olympians during the Titanomachy. His two other siblings sided with the gods instead, knowing they would win no matter what. Atlas took on the role of a commander for the Titans throughout the war and fought long and hard against the Olympians and their allies. Eventually, the Titans were defeated and punished by the gods for opposing them. Most of the Titans were sent to the Tartarus, described as “a deep abyss used as a dungeon…” (“Atlas” greekgodsandgoddesses.net 1). But Zeus sentenced Atlas to stand on the western edge of Gaea, the world, and hold up the heavens away from it. He would remain their for ages, separating it from Earth.

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The Titan War

The Titanomachy is one of the pivotal moments of Greek mythology, and was the point in time when one generation of gods, the Titans, were replaced with another, the Olympians.

The word Titanomachy effectively means the War of the Titans and was a ten year war fought through a number of battles between two sets of enemies. Unfortunately details of the war do not survive into the modern day, and the only reference point today comes from the Theogony (Hesiod), but this work details with the genealogy of the gods rather than being a detailed story of the war.

In antiquity there was certainly likely to be several works relating to the War of the Titans, and it is certainly known that there is a lost epic called the Titanomachia (attributed to Eumelus of Corinth), but the surviving fragments of this work, provide no real details.

Some details though can be ascertained by looking at the Theogony and gleaning detail from other Greek myths.

Cronus would then seek to circumvent the prophecy by swallowing whole his children, born to Rhea, imprisoning them into his stomach; and in this way Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades and Poseidon were swallowed. A sixth child of Cronus, Zeus, would have followed but Rhea and Gaia spirited him away to a cave on Mount Ida on Crete.

Titans vs Olympians

The basic Titan army therefore consisted of Cronus, Iapetus, Hyperion, Coeus and Crius, and two sons of Iapetus, Atlas and Menoetius. Iapetus was known for his fierceness as was Menoetius, but it was Atlas who was given the role of battlefield leader.

Two further sons of Iapetus, Prometheus and Epimetheus, did not fight though, for Prometheus was forewarned about how the war would end.

Other named allies of the Titans though included the Gorgon Aix (the Terrible Goat) and the god of stormy seas, Aegaeon.

The Olympians started off with Zeus, Hades and Poseidon, but they were soon joined by others. First to join was the goddess Styx, a daughter of Oceanus, who was urged by her father to join the side of Zeus. Styx brought along her four children Nike, Cratos, Zelos and Bia.

Nike would become the charioteer of Zeus during the war, whilst all four children of Styx would also act as the guardians of Zeus throne later on.

Another child of Oceanus, Metis, also joined the forces of the Olympians, and the goddess of Wisdom would act as counsel to Zeus during the war.

The Battle Between the Gods and the Titans - Joachim Wtewael (1566-1638) - PD-art-100

The Titanomachy

A version of the end of the war sees Hades don the Helmet of Invisibility and enter the very camp of the Titans upon Mount Othrys, and destroyed their weapons and armaments, destroying the Titans ability to fight; the war thus ended after ten years of fighting.

Fall of the Titans - Cornelis van Haarlem (1562-1638) - PD-art-100

Aftermath of the Titanomachy

The allies of Zeus were rewarded Styx, was made a power river goddess whose name was invoked for unbreakable oaths, whilst her children would be given privileged positions upon Mount Olympus. Metis would become the first wife of Zeus. The cosmos was itself divided amongst the three male Olympians through the drawing of lots. So

Hades was given dominion over the Underworld, Poseidon became lord of the world's waters, and Zeus became lord of the heavens, and with it the position of supreme deity.

One deity though who was not satisfied with the outcome of the Titanomachy was Gaia, for although her children, the Hecatonchires and Cyclopes had been released, they had been replaced in Tartarus with other children of Gaia. Ultimately, Gaia would cajole the Gigantes, another set of children of Mother Earth, to rise up against Zeus in the Gigantomachy.

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The Titanomachy is one of the pivotal moments of Greek mythology, and was the point in time when one generation of gods, the Titans , were replaced with another, the Olympians. The word Titanomachy effectively means the War of the Titans and was a ten year war fought through a number of battles between two sets of enemies.

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Perseus met Atlas like Hercules did, a hero in need of his assistance. Atlas was more far cautious this time because of how easily he’d been deceived before. So, Atlas refused to give him his hospitality. This rejection made Perseus extremely enraged. Out of pure anger, he “...turned Atlas into stone by showing him the head of Medusa and released him from his burden” (Šimon 1). Now, the stone form of him is seen as Mount Atlas, an actual mountain in North Africa. That’s where his story comes to an end.

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geoff campion art illustrator illustration artist perseus turns the giant atlas to stone watercolour painting adventure classical fairy tale/myth book illust card

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Perseus turns the Giant Atlas to Stone by Geoff Campion at the Illustration Art Gallery

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Perseus turns the Giant Atlas to Stone, Watercolour painting by Geoff Campion.

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There are tons of connections Atlas has, especially to other gods. Starting with the Olympians, they most likely viewed Atlas as opposition because of his major role in the Titanomachy. But Zeus may have a far more excessive resentment towards him since “[o]nly Atlas was singled out and received the harshest punishment … condemned to hold up the heavens with his bare hands and carry their weight on his shoulders forever” (Hatzitsinidou 1). This act of anger demonstrates the hate Zeus must have had for Atlas. Moving on from the Titanomachy, he was in love with the sea nymph Pleione. They had many children and so it seems they were all happy with each other.

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The Pleiades (;[1] Greek: Πλειάδες, Ancient Greek pronunciation: [pleːádes]), companions of Artemis,[2] were the seven daughters of the titan Atlas and the sea-nymph Pleione born on Mount Cyllene. They were the sisters of Calypso, Hyas, the Hyades, and the Hesperides. Together with the seven Hyades, they were called the Atlantides, Dodonides, or Nysiades, nursemaids and teachers to the infant Dionysus. They were thought to have been translated to the night sky as a cluster of stars, the Pleiades, and were associated with rain.

Classicists debate the origin of the name Pleiades. It ostensibly derives from the name of their mother, Pleione, effectively meaning "daughters of Pleione". However, the name of the star-cluster likely came first, and Pleione was invented to explain it.[3] According to another suggestion Pleiades derives from πλεῖν ( plein , "to sail") because of the cluster's importance in delimiting the sailing season in the Mediterranean Sea: "the season of navigation began with their heliacal rising".[4]

Several of the most prominent male Olympian gods (including Zeus, Poseidon, and Ares) engaged in affairs with the seven heavenly sisters. These relationships resulted in the birth of their children.

Maia (Μαῖα), eldest[5] of the seven Pleiades, was mother of Hermes by Zeus.

Electra (Ἠλέκτρα) was mother of Dardanus and Iasion, by Zeus.

Taygete (Ταϋγέτη) was mother of Lacedaemon, also by Zeus.

Alcyone (Ἀλκυόνη) was mother of Hyrieus, Hyperenor and Aethusa by Poseidon.

Celaeno (Κελαινώ) was mother of Lycus and Nycteus by Poseidon; and of Eurypylus also by Poseidon, and of Lycus and Chimaereus by Prometheus.

Sterope (Στερόπη) (also Asterope) was mother of Oenomaus by Ares.

Merope (Μερόπη), youngest[citation needed ] of the seven Pleiades, was wooed by Orion. In other mythic contexts she married Sisyphus and, becoming mortal, faded away. She bore Sisyphus several sons.

Sometimes they are related to the Hesperides, nymphs of the morning star.

After Atlas was forced to carry the heavens on his shoulders, Orion began to pursue all of the Pleiades, and Zeus transformed them first into doves, and then into stars to comfort their father. The constellation of Orion is said to still pursue them across the night sky.

One of the most memorable myths involving the Pleiades is the story of how these sisters literally became stars, their catasterism. According to some versions of the tale, all seven sisters committed suicide because they were so saddened by either the fate of their father, Atlas, or the loss of their siblings, the Hyades. In turn Zeus, the ruler of the Greek gods, immortalized the sisters by placing them in the sky. There these seven stars formed the star cluster known thereafter as the Pleiades.

The Greek poet Hesiod mentions the Pleiades several times in his Works and Days. As the Pleiades are primarily winter stars, they feature prominently in the ancient agricultural calendar. Here is a bit of advice from Hesiod:

And if longing seizes you for sailing the stormy seas,
when the Pleiades flee mighty Orion
and plunge into the misty deep
and all the gusty winds are raging,
then do not keep your ship on the wine-dark sea
but, as I bid you, remember to work the land.

The Pleiades would "flee mighty Orion and plunge into the misty deep" as they set in the West, which they would begin to do just before dawn during October-November, a good time of the year to lay up your ship after the fine summer weather and "remember to work the land"; in Mediterranean agriculture autumn is the time to plough and sow.

The poet Lord Tennyson mentions the Pleiades in his poem Locksley Hall:

Many a night I saw the Pleiads, rising through the mellow shade,
Glitter like a swarm of fire-flies tangled in a silver braid.

The loss of one of the sisters, Merope, in some myths may reflect an astronomical event wherein one of the stars in the Pleiades star cluster disappeared from view by the naked eye.[6][7]

In the account of Diodorus, the Pleiades were called Atlantides after their father Atlas and Hesperides from their mother Hesperis, daughter of Hesperus, brother of Atlas (making him the uncle of his bride). These sisters excelled in beauty and chastity and thus, Busiris, the king of the Egyptians, was seized with desire to get the maidens into his power; and consequently he dispatched pirates by sea with orders to seize the girls and deliver them into his hands. Later on, Heracles conquered this prince[further explanation needed ] when the latter attempted to sacrifice the hero.

Meanwhile, the pirates who had seized the girls while they were playing in a certain garden and carried them off, and fleeing swiftly to their ships had sailed away with them. Heracles came upon these pirates as they were taking their meal on a certain strand, and learning from the maidens what had taken place he slew the pirates to a man and brought the girls back to Atlas. In return, the father was so grateful to Heracles for his kindly deed that he not only gladly gave him such assistance as his Labour called for, but he also instructed him quite freely in the knowledge of astrology.[8] A scholia also added that after this events, the Pleiades were then persecuted by Orion.[9]

Although most accounts are uniform as to the number, names, and main myths concerning the Pleiades, the mythological information recorded by a scholiast on Theocritus' Idylls with reference to Callimachus[10] has nothing in common with the traditional version. According to it, the Pleiades were daughters of an Amazonian queen; their names were Maia, Coccymo, Glaucia, Protis, Parthenia, Stonychia, and Lampado. They were credited with inventing ritual dances and nighttime festivals.

1. ^ "Pleiades". Merriam-Webster Dictionary.

2. Scholiast to ^ Iliad, 18.486. https://scaife.perseus.org/reader/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg5026.tlg001.1st1K-grc1:2.18.198/ This in turn cites the lost Epic Cycle. The scholiast to Pindar Olympian 3.53 also refers to Taygete as a friend of Artemis.

3. Robin Hard, ^ The Routledge Handbook of Greek Mythology (London: Routledge, 2004), p. 518.

4. ^ "Pleiad, n." OED Online. Oxford University Press, December 2014. Web. 20 January 2015.

5. Pseudo-Apollodorus, ^ Bibliotheca 3.10.2

6. ^ The Pleiades in mythology, Pleiade Associates, Bristol, United Kingdom, accessed June 7, 2012

7. Marusek, James A., ^ Did a Supernova cause the Collapse of Civilization in India?, October 28, 2005

8. ^ Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca historica 4.27.1-3. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

9. Scholia, on ^ Apollonius of Rhodes, Argonautica 3.309

10. ^ Scholia on Theocritus, Idyll 13, 25

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The Pleiades (;[1] Greek: Πλειάδες, Ancient Greek pronunciation: [pleːádes]), companions of Artemis,[2] were the seven daughters of the titan Atlas and the sea-nymph Pleione born on Mount Cyllene. They were the sisters of Calypso, Hyas, the Hyades, and the Hesperides. Together with the seven Hyades, they were called the Atlantides, Dodonides, or Nysiades, nursemaids and teachers to the infant Dionysus.

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Hercules had been out doing his twelve labours as assigned by King Eurystheus. For his eleventh labour, he’d been tasked to fetch the Golden Apples of Hesperides, Prometheus suggested to ask Atlas to help. So, Hercules told Atlas he’d hold up the heavens as Atlas retrieved the apples. Atlas went out and came back with the apples, requesting to take them right to Eurystheus. It was obviously a trick to get out of his punishment, leaving Hercules to do his job instead. So, knowing this was a trap, he asked Atlas to hold up the heavens for a moment while he puts pads on his shoulders to relieve the pressure. Atlas foolishly falls for this lie and Hercules rushes off with the golden apples (Hamilton 165).

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The Met Collection API is where all makers, creators, researchers, and dreamers can now connect to the most up-to-date data and images for more than 470,000 artworks in The Met collection. As part of The Met's Open Access program, the data is available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

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Heinrich Aldegrever | Hercules and Atlas, from The Labors of Hercules | The Metropolitan Museum of Art

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The Met Collection API is where all makers, creators, researchers, and dreamers can now connect to the most up-to-date data and images for more than 470,000 artworks in The Met collection. As part of The Met's Open Access program, the data is available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.