Perseus realized that there was no use talking to Atlas and that he would lose if he engaged in a contest of strength with the Titan. Therefore, Atlas told Perseus to leave his land and tried to expel him by force. Having received this prophecy, the Titan built solid walls around his orchard, got a dragon to keep perpetual guard over his golden apples, and expelled any stranger who came to his land. “O Atlas! mark the day a son of Jupiter shall come to spoil for when thy trees been stripped of golden fruit, the glory shall be his.” In any case, Perseus requests shelter from Atlas, and reveals that he was a son of Zeus.Ītlas, however, recalled a prophecy by Themis that warned him to be on his guard against a son of Zeus, In fact, this task is only given to Atlas at the end of the story. Aglint with gold bright leaves adorn the trees, – boughs golden-wrought bear apples of pure gold.”Īpart from embellishing the myth of Atlas, Ovid seems to have ‘freed’ the Titan from the task of carrying the sky on his back. For him a thousand flocks, a thousand herds over wandered pasture fields and neighbor tribes might none disturb that land. “There dwelt huge Atlas, vaster than the race of man: son of Iapetus, his lordly sway extended over those extreme domains, and over oceans that command their waves to take the panting coursers of the Sun and bathe the wearied Chariot of the Day. In the myth, Perseus, having slain the Gorgon Medusa, was flying across the desert of Libya, where he (inadvertently, perhaps) caused venomous snakes to spawn from the ground, “the other, (as he bore the viperous monster-head) on sounding wings hovered a conqueror in the fluent air, over sands, Libyan, where the Gorgon-head dropped clots of gore, that, quickening on the ground, became unnumbered serpents fitting cause to curse with vipers that infested land”.Īs Perseus was being blown around by the constantly changing winds, he decided to rest for the night in the western end of the earth, which was believed to be Atlas’ domain. The Roman poet recounts a story in which Atlas encounters the hero Perseus. One of these, for instance, is found in Ovid’s Metamorphoses. This idea seems plausible, as writers who came after Hesiod added their own myths to the figure of Atlas. The defeated Titans were imprisoned in Tartarus, the deepest region of the underworld. (Eloquence / Public Domain )Īs a consequence, the Titans, with the exception of Prometheus and Themis, who had sided with the Olympians, were punished. The Titanomachy, which lasted for 10 years, ended with the defeat of the Titans.Ītlas was punished for the part he played in Titanomachy. This was the great war that was fought between the Titans and the Olympians. While Menoitios was punished for his hubris, and Prometheus for tricking Zeus (for the benefit of humankind), Atlas was punished for the role he played in the Titanomachy. And he set a great winged eagle upon him, and it fed on his immortal liver, which grew the same amount each way at night as the great bird ate in the course of the day”. And he bound crafty Prometheus in inescapable fetters, grievous bonds, driving them through the middle of a pillar. In the Theogony, “The lawless Menoitios was sent down to the darkness by wide-seeing Zeus with a smoking bolt, because of his wickedness and overbearing strength…. ![]() The sons of Iapetus, with the exception of Epimetheus, were all punished by Zeus. According to Hesiod, apart from Atlas, Clymene bore Iapetus three other children – Menoitios, Prometheus, and Epimetheus. a daughter of Oceanus and Tethys, and is sometimes called Asia. Iapetus was one of the four Titans who seized hold of Uranus, and held him down, while Cronus castrated him with a sickle.Ĭlymene, on the other hand, was an Oceanid, i.e. Iapetus was the son of Uranus and Gaia, and therefore was a brother of Cronus. In Hesiod’s Theogony, Atlas is said to be the son of Iapetus and Clymene. Sculptures of Atlas can be seen in different parts of the world. This is due to the fact that he is traditionally portrayed as supporting a globe on his back. Although Atlas’ punishment is the most famous myth revolving around this Titan, there are several other myths in which he is featured.Ītlas is also commonly depicted in art, especially in sculpture, and may be easily recognized. He is best-known for bearing the sky on his shoulders, a punishment inflicted on him by Zeus following the Titanomachy. ![]() ![]() Atlas is one of the most famous Titans in Greek mythology.
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