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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 Zeus.
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 a Greek god, but he was not amongst the famous Olympian deities of Greek mythology, indeed Atlas was of a preceding generation, being a second-generation Titan.
To this end, the parents of Atlas were the Titan Iapetus and his wife Clymene, an Oceanid. Iapetus had taken an active role in the rise of the Titans, holding down Ouranos whilst his brother Cronos castrated their father. Thus it was that in the Golden Age of the Titans, Iapetus and Clymene became parents to four sons, Prometheus, Epimetheus, Menoeitus and 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 GOD ATLAS IN THE TITANOMACHY
Atlas would be the Greek god of astronomy and navigation during this time, but in truth he was most widely thought of being the strongest of all Titans, eclipsing the strength of his father and all other Titans. It was this characteristic that would bring him to prominence. The rule of the Titans would come to an end when Zeus led an uprising against his father, Cronos. Two armies assembled, with Zeus and his allies upon Mount Olympus, and Cronos and the Titans on Mount Othrys.
Due to his immense strength, Atlas was given the role of battlefield leader amongst the Titans. Atlas would be joined in the Titan force by his father Iapetus, and brother Menoetius, but the other brothers, Prometheus and Atlas
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, Ouranos, 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.
THE TITAN ATLAS IN GREEK MYTHOLOGY
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 Zeus.
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 a Greek god, but he was not amongst the famous Olympian deities of Greek mythology, indeed Atlas was of a preceding generation, being a second-generation Titan.
To this end, the parents of Atlas were the Titan Iapetus and his wife Clymene, an Oceanid. Iapetus had taken an active role in the rise of the Titans, holding down Ouranos whilst his brother Cronos castrated their father. Thus it was that in the Golden Age of the Titans, Iapetus and Clymene became parents to four sons, Prometheus, Epimetheus, Menoeitus and 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 GOD ATLAS IN THE TITANOMACHY
Atlas would be the Greek god of astronomy and navigation during this time, but in truth he was most widely thought of being the strongest of all Titans, eclipsing the strength of his father and all other Titans. It was this characteristic that would bring him to prominence. The rule of the Titans would come to an end when Zeus led an uprising against his father, Cronos. Two armies assembled, with Zeus and his allies upon Mount Olympus, and Cronos and the Titans on Mount Othrys.
Due to his immense strength, Atlas was given the role of battlefield leader amongst the Titans. Atlas would be joined in the Titan force by his father Iapetus, and brother Menoetius, but the other brothers, Prometheus and Atlas
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, Ouranos, 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.
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