Atlas was a Titan in Greek mythology, punished by Zeus to hold up the sky. He appears in the story of Hercules and Odysseus, and was the father of Calypso.
In Greek mythology, Atlas was a Titan, one of the race of gods that ruled before Zeus and the Olympians. Most of the famous Titans – Oceanus, Coaeus, Crios, Hyperion, Iapetus, Thea, Themis, Mnemosyne, Phoebe, Thetis, Cronus and Rhea – were children of Uranus and Gaea. But in the group there were also two members of the next generation: Prometheus and Atlas, sons of the nymph Clymene and the titan Iapetus.
Hesiod is the first to mention the 12 Titans, and an early and important reference is found in Hesiod’s Theogeny, when Prometheus says in verses 384-388:
For the! my mind is tired of the pain
Of my kinsman Atlas, who stands
In the far West, leaning on his shoulders
The pillars of earth and sky, one weight
His arms may get sick but keep…
Prometheus is describing Atlas’ punishment for joining the rebellion against Zeus. Having been the guardian of the pillars of heaven that supported the sky, he is then forced to support the sky itself.
This punishment features prominently in one of the Labors of Hercules. Hercules is sent to procure the golden apples of the Hesperides – nymphs who were daughters of Atlas – as the 11th or last of his 11 labours, depending on which author is consulted. Hercules needed the Titan to get the apples, but he couldn’t get them with the sky on his shoulders. Thus Hercules was tricked into holding the sky while Atlas brought back the apples.
When Atlas returned however, he was unwilling to take back his punishment. He proposed to deliver the apples on behalf of Hercules. Afraid that the Titan would never return, Hercules feigned agreement and asked if he could just hold the sky for a moment so Hercules could adjust the lion skin on his shoulders a bit to create better padding. Atlas agreed, laid down the apples and took the sky from Hercules, who grabbed the apples and ran off to complete his work.
Atlas also appears in the story of Odysseus in Homer’s Odyssey. In this story, he is the father of Calypso, the nymph who kept Odysseus on her island after her shipwreck, hoping to make him her husband. But Ulysses prefers to return to his wife Penelope.
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