Editing Atlas (mythology)

{{Short description|Deity in Greek mythology}}
{{About|the Titan|other uses|Atlas (disambiguation)}}

{{Infobox deity
| type = Greek
| name = Atlas
| image = MAN Atlante fronte 1040572.JPG
| caption = The ''[[Farnese Atlas]]'', the oldest surviving depiction of the [[celestial sphere]] as a [[celestial globe]].
| alt = 
| god_of = 
| abode = Western edge of [[Gaia]] (''[[Earth]]''), North Africa.
| symbol = 
| consort = {{plainlist|
*[[Pleione (mythology)|Pleione]]
*[[Hesperis (mythology)|Hesperis]]
}}
| parents = {{plainlist|
*[[Iapetus]] (father/granduncle)
*[[Asia (Oceanid)|Asia]] or [[Clymene (wife of Iapetus)|Clymene]] (mother/cousin)
}}
| siblings = 
| children = {{plainlist|
*The [[Hesperides]]
*The [[Hyades (mythology)|Hyades]]
*The [[Pleiades (Greek mythology)|Pleiades]]
*[[Hyas]]
*[[Calypso (mythology)|Calypso]]
*[[Dione (mythology)|Dione]]
}}
| mount = 
}}

In [[Greek mythology]], '''Atlas''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|æ|t|l|ə|s}}; {{langx|grc|Ἄτλας}}, ''Átlās'') is a [[Titans|Titan]] condemned to hold up the heavens or sky for [[eternity]] after the [[Titanomachy]]. Atlas also plays a role in the myths of two of the greatest [[Hero#Antiquity|Greek heroes]]: [[Heracles]] ([[Hercules]] in [[Roman mythology]]) and [[Perseus]]. According to the ancient Greek poet [[Hesiod]], Atlas stood at the ends of the earth in the extreme [[Hesperides|west]].<ref name="517–520"/> Later, he became commonly identified with the [[Atlas Mountains]] in northwest Africa  and was said to be the first King of [[Mauretania]] (modern-day [[Morocco]] and west [[Algeria]], not to be confused with the modern-day country of [[Mauritania]]).<ref>Smith, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0104%3Aalphabetic+letter%3DA%3Aentry+group%3D53%3Aentry%3Datlas-bio-1 s.v. Atlas]</ref> Atlas was said to have been skilled in [[philosophy]], [[mathematics]], and [[astronomy]]. In antiquity, he was credited with inventing the first [[celestial spheres|celestial sphere]]. In some texts, he is even credited with the invention of astronomy itself.<ref name="Diodorus"/>

Atlas was the son of the Titan [[Iapetus]] and the [[Oceanids|Oceanid]] [[Asia (Oceanid)|Asia]]<ref name="Pseudo-Apollodorus"/> or [[Clymene (wife of Iapetus)|Clymene]].<ref name="Asia"/> He was a brother of [[Epimetheus]] and [[Prometheus]].<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Roman|first1=Luke|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tOgWfjNIxoMC|title=Encyclopedia of Greek and Roman Mythology|last2=Roman|first2=Monica|date=2010|publisher=Infobase Publishing|isbn=978-1-4381-2639-5|pages=92|language=en}}</ref> He had many children, mostly daughters, the [[Hesperides]], the [[Hyades (mythology)|Hyades]], the [[Pleiades (Greek mythology)|Pleiades]], and the nymph [[Calypso (mythology)|Calypso]] who lived on the island [[Ogygia]].<ref name="Daughter"/>

The term "[[atlas]]" has been used to describe a collection of maps since the 16th century when [[Flanders|Flemish]] geographer [[Gerardus Mercator]] published his work in honor of the mythological Titan.

The "[[Atlantic Ocean]]" is derived from "Sea of Atlas". The name of [[Atlantis]] mentioned in [[Plato|Plato's]] [[Timaeus (dialogue)|Timaeus]]' dialogue derives from "Atlantis nesos" ({{langx|grc|Ἀτλαντὶς νῆσος}}), literally meaning "Atlas's Island".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dictionary.com/e/atlantis/|title = What does "Atlantis" mean? And why is the Space Shuttle Atlantis named after something underwater?|date = 8 July 2011}}</ref>

==Etymology==
[[File:Singer Sargent, John - Atlas and the Hesperides - 1925.jpg|thumb|''Atlas and the Hesperides'' by John Singer Sargent (1925).]]
The [[etymology]] of the name ''Atlas'' is uncertain. [[Virgil]] translated etymologies of Greek names by combining them with adjectives that explained them: for Atlas his adjective is ''durus'', "hard, enduring",<ref>''[[Aeneid]]'' iv.247: "''Atlantis duri''" and other instances; see Robert W. Cruttwell, "Virgil, Aeneid, iv. 247: 'Atlantis Duri'" ''The Classical Review'' '''59'''.1 (May 1945), p. 11.</ref> which suggested to George Doig that Virgil was aware of the Greek τλῆναι "to endure"; Doig offers the further possibility that Virgil was aware of [[Strabo]]'s remark that the native North African name for this mountain was ''Douris''.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Doig |first=George |date=1968 |title=Vergil's Art and the Greek Language |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3296525 |journal=The Classical Journal |volume=64 |issue=1 |pages=1–6 |jstor=3296525 |issn=0009-8353}}</ref> Since the Atlas Mountains rise in the region inhabited by [[Berbers]], it has been suggested that the name might be taken from one of the [[Berber languages]], specifically from the word ''ádrār'' "mountain".<ref>Strabo, 17.3;</ref>

Traditionally historical linguists etymologize the Ancient Greek word Ἄτλας ([[genitive case|genitive]]: Ἄτλαντος) as comprised from copulative α- and the [[Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European]] root {{PIE|*telh₂-}} 'to uphold, support' (whence also τλῆναι), and which was later reshaped to an nt-stem.<ref name="Beekes">{{Cite book|last1=Beekes|first1=Robert|author-link=Robert Beekes|last2=van Beek|first2=Lucien|year=2010|title=Etymological Dictionary of Greek|publisher=Brill|volume=1|page=163}}</ref> However, [[Robert S. P. Beekes]] argues that it cannot be expected that this ancient Titan carries an Indo-European name, and he suggests instead that the word is of [[Pre-Greek substrate|Pre-Greek]] origin, as such words often end in ''-ant''.<ref name="Beekes" />

==Mythology==
===War and punishment===
{{main|Titanomachy}}
Atlas and his brother [[Menoetius]] sided with the Titans in their war against the [[Twelve Olympians|Olympians]], the [[Titanomachy]]. When the Titans were defeated, many of them (including Menoetius) were confined to [[Tartarus]], but [[Zeus]] condemned Atlas to stand at the western edge of the earth and hold up the sky on his shoulders.<ref>[[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0020.tlg001.perseus-eng1:507-544 517&ndash;520]; {{harvp|Gantz|1993|p=46}}</ref> Thus, he was ''Atlas Telamon'', "enduring Atlas", and became a doublet of [[Coeus]], the embodiment of the celestial axis around which the heavens revolve.<ref>The usage in [[Virgil]]'s ''maximum Atlas axem umero torquet stellis ardentibus aptum'' (''Aeneid'', iv.481f, cf vi.796f), combining poetic and parascientific images, is discussed in P. R. Hardie, "Atlas and Axis" ''The Classical Quarterly'' N.S. '''33'''.1 (1983:220–228).</ref>

A common misconception today is that Atlas was forced to hold the Earth on his shoulders, but Classical art shows Atlas holding the [[celestial spheres]], not the [[globe|terrestrial globe]]; the solidity of the marble globe borne by the [[Farnese Atlas]] may have aided the conflation, reinforced in the 16th century by the developing usage of ''atlas'' to describe a corpus of [[Atlas|terrestrial maps]].{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}} 

===Encounter with Perseus===
{{main|Perseus}}
The Greek poet [[Polyidus (mythology)|Polyidus]] {{Circa|398 BC}}<ref>[[Polyeidos (poet)|Polyeidos]], [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/polyidus-fragment/1993/pb_LCL144.203.xml fr. 837 Campbell]; [[Ovid]], ''[[Metamorphoses]]'' [https://topostext.org/work/141#4.621 4.627].</ref> tells a tale of Atlas, then a shepherd, encountering [[Perseus]] who [[Petrifaction in mythology and fiction|turned him to stone]]. Ovid later gives a more detailed account of the incident, combining it with the myth of Heracles. In this account Atlas is not a shepherd, but a king.<ref>Ovid, ''[[Metamorphoses]]'' 4.617 ff. ([http://www.theoi.com/Heros/Perseus.html#Atlas on-line English translation at Theoi Project]).</ref> According to Ovid, Perseus arrives in Atlas's Kingdom and asks for shelter, declaring he is a son of Zeus. Atlas, fearful of a prophecy that warned of a son of Zeus stealing his golden apples from his orchard, refuses Perseus hospitality.<ref name="LOTN"/> In this account, Atlas is turned not just into stone by Perseus, but an entire mountain range: Atlas's head the peak, his shoulders ridges and his hair woods. The prophecy did not relate to Perseus stealing the golden apples but to [[Heracles]], another son of Zeus, and Perseus's great-grandson.<ref>{{harvp|Ogden|2008|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=uRDFljXN0LkC&pg=PA49 49], 108, 114}}</ref>

===Encounter with Heracles===
{{main|Heracles}}
[[File:Lucas Cranach d.Ä. - Herkules und Atlas (Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum).jpg|thumb|''Herkules und Atlas'' by [[Lucas Cranach the Elder]]]]
One of the [[Labours of Hercules|Twelve Labours]] of the hero [[Heracles]] was to fetch some of the golden apples that grow in [[Hera]]'s garden, tended by Atlas's reputed daughters, the [[Hesperides]] (which were also called the Atlantides), and guarded by the dragon [[Ladon (mythology)|Ladon]]. Heracles went to Atlas and offered to hold up the heavens while Atlas got the apples from his daughters.<ref name=":0">[[Diodorus Siculus]], [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Diodorus_Siculus/4B*.html 4.27.2]; {{harvp|Gantz|1993|pp=410–413}}.</ref>

Upon his return with the apples, however, Atlas attempted to trick Heracles into carrying the sky permanently by offering to deliver the apples himself, as anyone who purposely took the burden must carry it forever, or until someone else took it away. Heracles, suspecting Atlas did not intend to return, pretended to agree to Atlas's offer, asking only that Atlas take the sky again for a few minutes so Heracles could rearrange his cloak as padding on his shoulders. When Atlas set down the apples and took the heavens upon his shoulders again, Heracles took the apples and ran away.{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}

In some versions,<ref>a lost passage of [[Pindar]] quoted by Strabo (3.5.5) was the earliest reference in this context: "the pillars which Pindar calls the "gates of Gades" when he asserts that they are the farthermost limits reached by Heracles"; the passage in Pindar has not been traced.</ref> Heracles instead built the two great [[Pillars of Hercules]] to hold the sky away from the earth, liberating Atlas much as he liberated [[Prometheus]].

==Other mythological characters named Atlas==
Besides the Titan, there are other mythological characters who were also called Atlas:

===King of Atlantis===
[[File:Mètopa del temple de Zeus d'Olímpia amb representació d'Hèracles i les pomes de les Hespèrides (Museu Arqueològic d'Olímpia).JPG|thumb|upright=1.2|Atlas and Heracles, metope from the temple of Zeus at [[Olympia, Greece|Olympia]].]]

According to [[Plato]], the first king of [[Atlantis]] was also named '''Atlas''', but that Atlas was a son of [[Poseidon]] and the mortal woman Cleito.<ref>[[Plato]], ''[[Critias (dialogue)|Critias]]'' [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0059.tlg032.perseus-eng1:113d 133d–114a]</ref> The works of [[Eusebius]]<ref name="Eusebius"/> and [[Diodorus Siculus|Diodorus]]<ref name="Diodorus"/> also give an Atlantean account of Atlas. In these accounts, Atlas' father was [[Uranus (mythology)|Uranus]] and his mother was [[Gaia]]. His grandfather was [[Elyon#Sanchuniathon|Elium]] "King of [[Phoenicia]]" who lived in [[Byblos]] with his wife [[Baal Berith|Beruth]]. Atlas was raised by his sister, [[Basilea (queen)|Basilia]].<ref>For further comment on Mercator's chosen Titanic genealogy see {{harvp|Keuning|1947}}, {{harvp|Akerman|1994}} and {{harvp|Ramachandran|2015|p=42}}</ref><ref name="Mercator"/><ref>See {{harvp|''Bibliotheca historica''|loc=Book III}}, Eusebius' ''[[Praeparatio evangelica]]'' references the same mythology as Diodorus stating "These then are the principal heads of the theology held among the Atlanteans".</ref>

===King of Mauretania===
Atlas was also a legendary king of [[Mauretania]], the land of the [[Mauri]] in antiquity roughly corresponding with modern [[Morocco]]. In the 16th century, [[Gerardus Mercator]] put together the first collection of maps to be called an "[[Atlas]]" and devoted his book to the "King of Mauretania".<ref name="Mercator"/><ref>{{harvp|Grafton|Most|Settis|2010|p=103}}</ref>

Atlas became associated with Northwest Africa over time. He had been connected with the [[Hesperides]], or "Nymphs", which guarded the [[golden apple]]s, and [[Gorgons]] both of which were said to live beyond Ocean in the extreme west of the world since [[Hesiod]]'s [[Theogony]].<ref>See {{harvp|Gantz|1993|p=401}} and {{harvp|Ogden|2008|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=uRDFljXN0LkC&pg=PA47 47–49]}}</ref> [[Diodorus Siculus|Diodorus]] and [[Palaephatus]] mention that the Gorgons lived in the Gorgades, islands in the [[Aethiopian Sea]]. The main island was called Cerna, and modern-day arguments have been advanced that these islands may correspond to [[Cape Verde]] due to [[Phoenicia]]n exploration.<ref>For instance, the Phoenician [[Hanno the Navigator]] is said to have sailed as far as [[Mount Cameroon]] in the 5th or 6th century BC. See {{harvp|Lemprière|1833|pp=249–250}} and Ovid, ''The Metamorphoses'', commented by Henry T. Riley {{ISBN|978-1-4209-3395-6}}</ref>  

The Northwest Africa region emerged as the canonical home of the King via separate sources. In particular, according to Ovid, after Perseus turns Atlas into a mountain range, he flies over [[Aethiopia]], the blood of Medusa's head giving rise to Libyan snakes. By the time of the [[Roman Empire]], the habit of associating Atlas's home to a chain of mountains, the [[Atlas Mountains]], which were near [[Mauretania]] and [[Numidia]], was firmly entrenched.<ref>{{harvp|Lemprière|1833|pp=249–250}}</ref>

===Other===
<!-- Hatnote at [[Aril]] redirects here -->
The identifying name ''Aril'' is inscribed on two 5th-century BC Etruscan bronze items: a mirror from [[Vulci]] and a ring from an unknown site.<ref>Paolo Martini, ''Il nome etrusco di Atlante'', (Rome:Università di Roma) 1987 investigates the etymology of ''aril'', rejecting a link to the verbal morpheme ''ar-'' ("support") in favor of a Phoenician etymon in an unattested possible form ''*'arrab(a)'', signifying "guarantor in a commercial transaction" with the connotation of "mediator", related to the Latin borrowing ''arillator'', "middleman". This section and note depend on Rex Wallace's review of Martini in ''Language'' '''65'''.1 (March 1989:187–188).</ref> Both objects depict the encounter with Atlas of [[Hercle]]—the Etruscan [[Heracles]]—identified by the inscription; they represent rare instances where a figure from [[Greek mythology]] was imported into [[Etruscan religion|Etruscan mythology]], but the name was not. The Etruscan name ''Aril'' is etymologically independent.{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}} 

==Genealogy==
Sources describe Atlas as the father, by different goddesses, of numerous children, mostly daughters. Some of these are assigned conflicting or overlapping identities or parentage in different sources.

* By [[Hesperis (mythology)|Hesperis]]:
** The [[Hesperides]]<ref>[[Diodorus Siculus]], [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Diodorus_Siculus/4B*.html#27.2 4.27.2]; {{harvp|Gantz|1993|p=7}}.</ref>
* By [[Pleione (mythology)|Pleione]] (or [[Aethra (mythology)|Aethra]]<ref>[[Gaius Julius Hyginus|Hyginus]], ''[[De astronomia]]'' [https://topostext.org/work/207#2.21.4 2.21.4], [https://topostext.org/work/207#2.21.6 2.21.6]; [[Ovid]], ''Fasti'' 5.164</ref>):
** The [[Hyades (mythology)|Hyades]]<ref name="Hyginus, Fabulae 192">Hyginus, ''[[Fabulae]]'' [https://topostext.org/work/206#192 192]</ref>
** A son, [[Hyas]]<ref name="Hyginus, Fabulae 192" />
** The [[Pleiades (Greek mythology)|Pleiades]]<ref>[[Hesiod]], ''[[Works and Days]]'' [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0020.tlg002.perseus-eng1:370-404 383]; [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg001.perseus-eng1:3.10.1 3.10.1]; Ovid, ''Fasti'' 5.79</ref>
* By one or more unspecified goddesses:
** [[Calypso (mythology)|Calypso]]<ref>[[Homer]], ''[[Odyssey]]'' 1.52; Apollodorus, Epitome [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg002.perseus-eng1:e.7.24 7.24]</ref>
** [[Dione (mythology)|Dione]]<ref>Hyginus, ''[[Fabulae]]'' [https://topostext.org/work/206#82 82] & [https://topostext.org/work/206#83 83]</ref>
** [[Maera (mythology)|Maera]]<ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160%3Abook%3D8%3Achapter%3D12%3Asection%3D7 8.12.7] & [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160%3Abook%3D8%3Achapter%3D48%3Asection%3D6 8.48.6]</ref>

[[Gaius Julius Hyginus|Hyginus]], in his ''[[Gaius Julius Hyginus|Fabulae]]'', adds an older Atlas who is the son of [[Aether (mythology)|Aether]] and [[Gaia]].<ref>Hyginus, ''[[Fabulae]]'' [https://topostext.org/work/206#0.2 Preface]</ref>

==Cultural influence==
{{Main|Atlas (disambiguation)}}
Atlas' best-known cultural association is in [[cartography]]. The first publisher to associate the Titan Atlas with a group of maps was the print-seller [[Antonio Lafreri]], who included a depiction of the Titan on the engraved titlepage he applied to his ''ad hoc'' assemblages of maps, ''Tavole Moderne di Geografia de la Maggior parte del Mondo di Diversi Autori'' (1572).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mapforum.com/03/lafrscho.htm|author=Ashley Baynton-Williams|title=The "Lafreri school" of Italian mapmakers|access-date=February 26, 2013|archive-date=April 23, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160423091456/http://www.mapforum.com/03/lafrscho.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> However, Lafreri did not use the word "Atlas" in the title of his work; this was an innovation of [[Gerardus Mercator]], who named his work ''Atlas Sive Cosmographicae Meditationes de Fabrica Mundi et Fabricati'' (1585–1595),<ref>{{cite web |last1=van Egmond |first1=Marco |title=The 'Atlas' by Mercator and Hondius |url=https://www.uu.nl/en/special-collections/collections/maps-and-atlases/world-maps-and-atlases/the-atlas-by-mercator-and-hondius |publisher=Utrecht University |access-date=21 September 2023}}</ref> using the word ''Atlas'' as a dedication specifically to honor the Titan Atlas, in his capacity as King of [[Mauretania]], a learned philosopher, mathematician, and astronomer.

In psychology, Atlas is used metaphorically to describe the [[Atlas personality|personality of someone whose childhood was characterized by excessive responsibilities]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Vogel|first1=L. Z.|last2=Savva|first2=Stavroula|date=1993-12-01|title=Atlas personality|journal=British Journal of Medical Psychology|language=en|volume=66|issue=4|pages=323–330|doi=10.1111/j.2044-8341.1993.tb01758.x|pmid=8123600|issn=2044-8341}}</ref>

Ayn Rand's political dystopian novel ''[[Atlas Shrugged]]'' (1957) references the popular misconception of Atlas holding up the entire world on his back by comparing the capitalist and intellectual class as being "modern Atlases" who hold the modern world up at great expense to themselves.{{citation needed|date=July 2024}}

Michael J. Anderson explains that the earliest Greek vase paintings and sculptures depict Atlas with a rigid stance, representing his bearing the burden of Zeus's everlasting punishment. The depiction of Atlas as a muscular figure under the weight of a celestial globe or vault visually express the Greek concept of suffering, resulting from arrogance and rebellion. These artistic patterns explore larger Greek art themes that portray Titans as a symbol of divine punishment and cosmic order. 

==Gallery==
<gallery widths="150" heights="200">
File:Atlas sculpture on collins street melbourne.jpg|Atlas supports the terrestrial globe on a building in [[Collins Street, Melbourne]], [[Australia]].
File:Dutch - Nautilus Cup - Walters 57989 - Profile.jpg|''Nautilus Cup''. This drinking vessel, for court feasts, depicts Atlas holding the shell on his back.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=[[The Walters Art Museum]]|url=http://art.thewalters.org/detail/16751|title=Nautilus Cup}}</ref> The Walters Art Museum
File:Atlas Santiago Toural GFDL.jpg|Sculpture of Atlas, Praza do Toural, [[Santiago de Compostela]]
File:Atlas New York.JPG|[[Lee Lawrie]]'s colossal bronze ''[[Atlas (statue)|Atlas]]'', [[Rockefeller Center]], New York
File:GandharanAtlas.JPG|[[Greco-Buddhist art|Greco-Buddhist]] (c. AD 100) Atlas, supporting a Buddhist monument, [[Hadda, Afghanistan|Hadda]], Afghanistan 
File:Atlas inside the Royal Palace, Amsterdam, Netherlands.jpg|Atlas inside the [[Royal Palace of Amsterdam|Royal Palace]], [[Amsterdam|Amsterdam, Netherlands]]
File:FR Carskie Siolo, palac, 2013.08.10, fot. I. Nowicka (7) corr.jpg|Statues of Atlas on the exterior of Catherine Palace in [[Tsarskoye Selo]], [[Pushkin, Saint Petersburg]] 
</gallery>

==Genealogy==
{{chart top|Atlas's family tree<ref>[[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hes.+Th.+132 132&ndash;138], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hes.+Th.+337 337&ndash;411], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hes.+Th.+453 453&ndash;520], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hes.+Th.+901 901&ndash;906, 915&ndash;920]; Caldwell, pp. 8&ndash;11, tables 11&ndash;14.</ref>|collapsed=no}}
{{chart/start}}
{{chart|}}
{{chart| | | | | | | | | | | |URA |y|GAI |~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|y|PON|URA=[[Uranus (mythology)|Uranus]]|GAI=[[Gaia (mythology)|Gaia]]|PON=[[Pontus (mythology)|Pontus]]}}
{{chart|,|-|v|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|-|-|v|-|^|-|v|-|-|-|-|-|-|.| | | |!}}
{{chart|!|OCE |y|TET | | | |HYP |y|THE | | | | |CRI |y|EUR|OCE=[[Oceanus]]|TET=[[Tethys (mythology)|Tethys]]|HYP=[[Hyperion (Titan)|Hyperion]]|THE=[[Theia]]|CRI=[[Crius]]|EUR=[[Eurybia (mythology)|Eurybia]]}}
{{chart|!| |,|-|^|-|.| | | |,|-|-|-|+|-|-|-|.| | | |,|-|-|^|v|-|-|-|.}}
{{chart|!|RIV | |OCE | |HEL | |SEL | |EOS | |AST | |PAL | |PER |RIV=<small>The&nbsp;[[River gods (Greek mythology)|Rivers]]</small>|OCE=<small>The&nbsp;[[Oceanids]]</small>|HEL=[[Helios]]|SEL=[[Selene]]<ref>Although usually the daughter of Hyperion and Theia, as in [[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hes.+Th.+371 371&ndash;374], in the ''[[Homeric Hymns|Homeric Hymn]] to Hermes'' (4), [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=HH+4+99&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0138 99&ndash;100], Selene is instead made the daughter of Pallas the son of Megamedes.</ref>|EOS=[[Eos]]|AST=[[Astraeus]]|PAL=[[Pallas (Titan)|Pallas]]|PER=[[Perses (Titan)|Perses]]}}
{{chart|!| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |}}
{{chart|)|-|-|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|.| | | |}}
{{chart|!| | | | |CRO |y|RHE | | | | | | | |COE |y|PHO | | |COE=[[Coeus]]|PHO=[[Phoebe (Titaness)|Phoebe]]|CRO=[[Cronus]]|RHE=[[Rhea (mythology)|Rhea]]}}
{{chart|!| |,|-|v|-|v|-|^|-|v|-|v|-|.| | | | | |,|-|^|-|.| | | }}
{{chart|!|HES |!|HER | |HAD |!|ZEU | | | |LET | |AST | |HES=[[Hestia]]|HER=[[Hera]]|HAD=[[Hades]]|ZEU=[[Zeus]]|LET=[[Leto]]|AST=[[Asteria]]}}
{{chart|!| | | |!| | | | | | | |!| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |}}
{{chart|!| | |DEM | | | | | |POS | | | | | | | | | | | | | |DEM=[[Demeter]]|POS=[[Poseidon]]}}
{{chart|!| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |}}
{{chart|`|-|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|.}}
{{chart| | | | |IAP |y|CLY | | | | | |MNE |~|y|~|ZEU |~|y|~|THE |IAP=[[Iapetus (mythology)|Iapetus]]|CLY=[[Clymene (wife of Iapetus)|Clymene]]&nbsp;(or&nbsp;[[Asia (Oceanid)|Asia]])<ref>According to [[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hes.+Th.+507 507&ndash;511], Clymene, one of the [[Oceanid]]s, the daughters of [[Oceanus]] and [[Tethys (mythology)|Tethys]], at [[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hes.+Th.+351 351], was the mother by Iapetus of Atlas, Menoetius, Prometheus, and Epimetheus, while according to [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022%3Atext%3DLibrary%3Abook%3D1%3Achapter%3D2%3Asection%3D3 1.2.3], another Oceanid, Asia was their mother by Iapetus.</ref>|MNE=[[Mnemosyne]]|ZEU=(Zeus)|THE=[[Themis]]}}
{{chart| |,|-|-|-|v|-|^|-|v|-|-|-|.| | | | | | |!| | | | | |!}}
{{chart|ATL | |MEN | |PRO | |EPI | | | | |MUS | | | |HOR |ATL='''ATLAS'''<ref>According to [[Plato]], ''[[Critias (dialogue)|Critias]]'', [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0059.tlg032.perseus-eng1:113d 113d&ndash;114a], Atlas was the son of [[Poseidon]] and the mortal [[Cleito]].</ref>|MEN=[[Menoetius (Greek mythology)|Menoetius]]|PRO=[[Prometheus]]<ref>In [[Aeschylus]], ''[[Prometheus Bound]]'' 18, 211, 873 (Sommerstein, pp. [http://www.loebclassics.com/view/aeschylus-prometheus_bound/2009/pb_LCL145.445.xml 444&ndash;445 n. 2], [http://www.loebclassics.com/view/aeschylus-prometheus_bound/2009/pb_LCL145.467.xml 446&ndash;447 n. 24], [http://www.loebclassics.com/view/aeschylus-prometheus_bound/2009/pb_LCL145.539.xml 538&ndash;539 n. 113]) Prometheus is made to be the son of [[Themis]].</ref>|EPI=[[Epimetheus (mythology)|Epimetheus]]|MUS=<small>The&nbsp;[[Muses]]</small>|HOR=<small>The&nbsp;[[Horae]]</small>}}
{{chart/end}}
{{chart bottom}}

==See also==
{{Columns-list|colwidth=30em|
* [[Atlas (architecture)]]
* [[Bahamut]], a rough analogue from Arabian mythology, and other members of [[:Category:World-bearing animals]]
* [[Farnese Atlas]]
* [[Upelluri]]
* [[Nut (goddess)]], in ancient Egyptian mythology forced to hold up the sky
}}

==Notes==
{{reflist|40em|refs=
<ref name="517–520">[[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0020.tlg001.perseus-eng1:507-544 517&ndash;520].
</ref>
<ref name="Pseudo-Apollodorus">[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg001.perseus-eng1:1.2.3 1.2.3].
</ref>
<ref name="Asia">[[Hesiod]],''[[Theogony]]'' [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0020.tlg001.perseus-eng1:507-544 507]. It is possible that the name ''Asia'' became preferred over Hesiod's ''Clymene'' to avoid confusion with what must be a different [[Oceanid]] named [[Clymene (mother of Phaethon)|Clymene]], who was mother of [[Phaethon]] by [[Helios]] in some accounts.
</ref>
<ref name="Mercator">{{harvp|Mercator|Lessing J. Rosenwald Collection (Library of Congress)|2000}}
</ref>
<ref name="LOTN">{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/livesnecromance04godwgoog|title=Lives of the Necromancers|author=William Godwin|year=1876|page=[https://archive.org/details/livesnecromance04godwgoog/page/n62 39]|publisher=London, F. J. Mason}}
</ref>
<ref name="Daughter">Homer, ''Odyssey'', [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0136%3Abook%3D1%3Acard%3D1 1.14], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0136%3Abook%3D1%3Acard%3D44 1.50].  Calypso is sometimes referred to as ''Atlantis'' (Ατλαντίς), which means the daughter of Atlas, see the entry [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3D%2317105 Ατλαντίς] in [[Liddell & Scott]], and also [[Hesiod]], ''Theogony'', [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0020.tlg001.perseus-eng1:938-962 938].
</ref>
<ref name="Diodorus">Referencing [[Diodorus]]:
*"[Atlas] perfected the science of astrology and was the first to publish to mankind the doctrine of the sphere.  and it was for this reason that the idea was held that the entire heavens were supported upon the shoulders of Atlas, the myth darkly hinting in this way at his discovery and description of the sphere." {{harvp|''Bibliotheca historica''|loc=Book III 60.2}}
*"Atlas 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. For Atlas had worked out the science of astrology to a degree surpassing others and had ingeniously discovered the spherical nature of the stars, and for that reason was generally believed to be bearing the entire firmament upon his shoulders. Similarly in the case of Heracles, when he had brought to the Greeks the doctrine of the sphere, he gained great fame, as if he had taken over the burden of the firmament which Atlas had borne, since men intimated in this enigmatic way what had actually taken place." {{harvp|''Bibliotheca historica''|loc=Book IV 27.4–5}}
</ref>
<ref name="Eusebius">The "testimony of Eusebius" was "drawn from the most ancient historians" according to Mercator. Eusebius' ''[[Praeparatio evangelica]]'' gives accounts of Atlas that had been translated from the works of [[Phoenicia|ancient Phoenician]] [[Sanchuniathon]], the original sources for which predate the [[Trojan War]] (i.e. 13th century BCE).
</ref>
}}

==References==
{{refbegin|40em}}
* {{cite book |last1=Akerman |first1=J. R. |editor1-last=Watelet |editor1-first=M. |title=Gerardi Mercatoris, Atlas Europae |date=1994 |publisher=Bibliothèque des Amis du Fonds Mercator |location=Antwerp |pages=15–29 |chapter=Atlas, la genèse d'un titre}}
* [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], ''Apollodorus, The Library, with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S. in 2 Volumes.'' Cambridge, Massachusetts, [[Harvard University Press]]; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text;jsessionid=C431BA809CA4DEA22A15DA9C666F3400?doc=Perseus%3atext%3a1999.01.0022%3atext%3dLibrary Online version at the Perseus Digital Library].
* {{cite book |author1=Diodorus Siculus |author-link1=Diodorus Siculus |editor1-last=Oldfather |editor1-first=C. H. |editor2-last=Sherman |editor2-first=C. L. |editor3-last=Welles |editor3-first=C. B. |editor4-last=Geer |editor4-first=R. M. |editor5-last=Walton |editor5-first=F. R. |title=Diodorus of Sicily : The Library of History. 12 Vols. |date=1933–67 |publisher=Harvard University Press |location=Cambridge, Mass. |edition=2004 |ref={{harvid|''Bibliotheca historica''}} |url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Diodorus_Siculus/home.html}}
* {{cite book |last1=Gantz |first1=T. |author-link1=Timothy Gantz |title=Early Greek Myth: A Guide to Literary and Artistic Sources |date=1993 |publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press |location=Baltimore |isbn=978-0-8018-4410-2 |oclc=917033766 |lccn=92026010}}
* {{cite book |editor1-last=Grafton |editor1-first=A. |editor2-last=Most |editor2-first=G. W. |editor3-last=Settis |editor3-first=S. |title=The Classical Tradition |date=2010 |edition=2013 |publisher=Harvard University Press |location=Cambridge, Mass. |isbn=978-0-674-07227-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LbqF8z2bq3sC |oclc=957010841 |lccn=2010019667}}
* [[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'', in ''The Homeric Hymns and Homerica with an English Translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White'', Cambridge, Massachusetts., [[Harvard University Press]]; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1914. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0130%3Acard%3D1 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library].
* [[Hesiod]]; ''[[Works and Days]]'', in ''The Homeric Hymns and Homerica with an English Translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White'', Cambridge, Massachusetts., [[Harvard University Press]]; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1914. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0132%3Acard%3D1 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library].
* {{cite book |editor1-last=Hornblower |editor1-first=S. |editor2-last=Spawforth |editor2-first=A. |editor3-last=Eidinow |editor3-first=E. |title=The Oxford Classical Dictionary |date=2012 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |isbn=978-0-19-954556-8 |edition=4th |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bVWcAQAAQBAJ |oclc=799019502 |lccn=2012009579}}
* [[Gaius Julius Hyginus|Hyginus, Gaius Julius]], ''[[De astronomia]]'', in ''The Myths of Hyginus'', edited and translated by Mary A. Grant, Lawrence: University of Kansas Press, 1960. [https://topostext.org/work/207 Online version at ToposText].
* [[Gaius Julius Hyginus|Hyginus, Gaius Julius]], ''[[Fabulae]]'', in ''The Myths of Hyginus'', edited and translated by Mary A. Grant, Lawrence: University of Kansas Press, 1960. [https://topostext.org/work/206 Online version at ToposText].
* {{cite journal |last1=Keuning |first1=J. |title=The History of an Atlas: Mercator. Hondius |journal=Imago Mundi |volume=4 |issue=1 |year=1947 |pages=37–62 |issn=0308-5694 |doi=10.1080/03085694708591880 |jstor=1149747}}
* {{cite book |last1=Lemprière |first1=J. |editor1-last=Anthon |editor1-first=C. |title=A Classical Dictionary |date=1833 |publisher=G. & C. & H. Carvill [etc.] |location=New York |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2JloAje72TcC |oclc=81170896 |lccn=31001224}}
* {{cite book |editor1-last=Karrow |editor1-first=R. W. |title=Atlas sive Cosmographicæ Meditationes de Fabrica Mundi et Fabricati Figura: Duisburg, 1595 |date=2000 |publisher=Octavo |location=Oakland, CA |url=http://mail.nysoclib.org/mercator_atlas/mcrats.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160310032427/http://mail.nysoclib.org/mercator_atlas/mcrats.pdf |archive-date=10 March 2016 |translator-last1=Sullivan |translator-first1=D. |oclc=48878698 |last1=Mercator |first1=G. |author-link1=Gerardus Mercator |author2=Lessing J. Rosenwald Collection (Library of Congress) |isbn=978-1-891788-26-0 |lccn=map55000728}}
* {{cite book |last1=Ogden |first1=D. |title=Perseus |date=2008 |publisher=Routledge |location=London; New York |isbn=978-0-415-42724-1 |edition=1st |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uRDFljXN0LkC |oclc=163604137 |lccn=2007031552}}
* {{cite book |last1=Ogden |first1=D. |title=Drakon: Dragon Myth and Serpent Cult in the Greek and Roman Worlds |date=2013 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |isbn=978-0-19-955732-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FQ2pAK9luwkC |oclc=799069191 |lccn=2012277527}}
* {{cite book |last1=Ramachandran |first1=A. |title=The Worldmakers: Global Imagining in Early Modern Europe |date=2015 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |location=Chicago |isbn=978-0-226-28879-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rVX2rQEACAAJ&q=atlas |oclc=930260324}}
*[[William Smith (lexicographer)|Smith, William]]; ''[[Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology]]'', London (1873). [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0104%3Aalphabetic+letter%3DA%3Aentry+group%3D53%3Aentry%3Datlas-bio-1 "Atlas" ]
{{refend}}{{Cite book |last=Anderson |first=Michael |title=The Fall of Troy in Early Greek Poetry and Art |date=1977 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-815064-0 |pages=112}}

==External links==
{{Commons and category|Atlas (mythology)|Atlas (mythology)}}
* {{cite EB9 |wstitle= Atlas (1.) |volume= III |page=27 |short=1}}
* [https://iconographic.warburg.sas.ac.uk/category/vpc-taxonomy-000181 Warburg Institute Iconographic Database (c. 120 images of Atlas)]

{{Greek religion}}
{{Greek mythology (deities)}}
{{Metamorphoses in Greco-Roman mythology}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Atlas (Mythology)}}
[[Category:Atlas (mythology)| ]]
[[Category:Greek gods]]
[[Category:Mythology of Heracles]]
[[Category:Titans (mythology)]]
[[Category:Kings of Mauretania]]
[[Category:Kings in Berber mythology]]
[[Category:Deeds of Zeus]]
[[Category:Metamorphoses characters]]
[[Category:Atlanteans]]
[[Category:Metamorphoses into terrain in Greek mythology]]
[[Category:Sky supporters]]