Atlas was forced by Jupiter to hold up the sky.
Click on image for full size
Courtesy of the Nova Development and Corel Corporations
Atlas
Ancient Romans Atlas was the leader of the giant Titans who fought a war against the gods. The head of the gods was
Jupiter, who was fighting against his father, the Titan
Saturn, to gain control of the world.
When Jupiter won the war, he severely punished Atlas by making him carry the sky on
his shoulders.
A moon of the planet Saturn was named after the
Titan Atlas for fighting with his brother Saturn.
Atlas was the father of the Pleiades,
theHyades, and the Hesperides. The
Hesperides were the guardians of a tree of golden apples. The earth
goddess Gaea gave the tree to Juno,
the wife of Jupiter, as a wedding present.
The tree was in a secret location. Nevertheless, an oracle told Atlas that a son of Jupiter would one day steal the golden apples guarded by his daughters. For this reason, Atlas refused to let anyone visit his home. One day,
a famous hero, Perseus passed by where Atlas was living. When Atlas denied hospitality to him, Perseus, showed Atlas the head of the Gorgon Medusa, which had the ability to turn anything into stone. The giant Atlas was immediately transformed into the homonymous mountains
in northwest Africa.
You might also be interested in:
According to the ancient Greeks, the Pleiades were seven sisters. In Greek, the word "pleiades" means "doves." Their parents were Pleione and Atlas who was condemned by Zeus to support the Heavens on his
...more
For the ancient Greeks, the Hyades were daughters of Pleione and Atlas, a giant who carried the heavens on his shoulders. The Hyades had several sisters, such as the Pleiades and the Hesperides. They were
...more
Prometheus is a small moon of Saturn. It was discovered by S. Collins and others in 1980 from photos taken by the Voyager 1 spacecraft. This moon's name comes from Greek mythology. Prometheus was a Titan
...more
Ahsonnutli was the sky father and chief god for the Navajo. He created heaven, Earth, and the sky. Each of the four directions, or cardinal points, are supported by a giant. Each direction is symbolized
...more
Amphitrite was one of the sea-nymphs called the Nereids. One day the sea god Poseidon saw her dancing and fell desperately in love with her. He promptly asked her to marry him but unfortunately she refused.
...more
Aphrodite was the Greek goddess of love and beauty. She was known to the Romans as Venus. To the perfection of her figure and the purity of her features she added an innocent grace. On her sweet face she
...more
In Greek mythology, Apollo was the son of Jupiter(in Greek Zeus) and Leto (Letona). He was the god of the Sun, logic, and reason, and was also a fine musician and healer. Leto travelled all over Greece
...more
