“Atlas, under strong constraint, holds up the broad sky with his head and tireless hands, standing at the ends of the earth, away by the clear-voiced Hesperides, for Zeus the resourceful assigned him this lot.” Thus, Atlas was forced by Zeus to hold up the sky, It is also said that this punishment was chosen because Atlas was renowned for his great strength. According to some sources, Atlas was the leader of the Titans, and therefore had a special punishment waiting for him at the end of the war. Unlike his fellow Titans, Atlas was not imprisoned in Tartarus. 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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