The Titan condemned to hold up the heavens for eternity, Atlas became a symbol of endurance and strength – and gave his name to maps, mountains and an ocean. Here is his story.
Who is Atlas?
Atlas is a Titan of Greek mythology, son of the Titan Iapetus and the ocean nymph Clymene, and brother of Prometheus. He is famous for his punishment: to stand at the western edge of the world and hold up the sky on his shoulders forever. In art he is a powerful bearded man, bent beneath the weight of a great celestial globe marked with the stars and constellations.
The war of the Titans
During the Titanomachy, the ten-year war between the Olympian gods and the Titans, Atlas fought on the side of the Titans and became one of their leaders. When Zeus and the Olympians won, most of the Titans were imprisoned in Tartarus. Atlas received a different fate: he was condemned to carry the heavens, keeping sky and earth apart for all time.
Atlas and Heracles
For his eleventh labour, Heracles had to bring back the golden apples of the Hesperides – the nymphs who were daughters of Atlas. Heracles offered to hold up the sky while Atlas fetched the apples. Atlas agreed, enjoyed his freedom and returned with the apples – but announced that he would deliver them himself and leave Heracles to carry the heavens. Heracles pretended to agree, asking only that Atlas take the sky back for a moment while he adjusted the padding on his shoulders. As soon as Atlas did so, Heracles picked up the apples and walked away.
Atlas and Perseus
Another legend tells that the hero Perseus, returning from slaying Medusa, asked Atlas for shelter. When Atlas refused, Perseus showed him the Gorgon's head, and the Titan was turned to stone – becoming the Atlas Mountains of North Africa, which seem to hold up the sky.
A name that circles the world
Atlas' name is everywhere. The Atlantic Ocean is "the sea of Atlas". In the 16th century the cartographer Gerardus Mercator put an image of Atlas on the cover of his collection of maps, and since then every book of maps has been called an atlas. The first vertebra of the neck, which supports the head, is also called the atlas.
Atlas in art and in your home
Atlas symbolises endurance, responsibility and strength under pressure. The Farnese Atlas, a Roman marble now in Naples, is the most famous ancient image of him and has inspired countless bronzes and globe stands. An Atlas statue holding a globe is a classic piece for a study, library or office, and a meaningful gift for leaders, travellers, geographers and anyone who carries a heavy load with courage.
Related gods
Read the stories of Zeus, who defeated the Titans, of Heracles, Perseus and his brother Prometheus. Browse all the gods in our Greek Mythology collection and decorative globes in Globe Bars.
