When was atlas the greek god born

However, there is an alternative description of the titan by Valerius Flaccus and Virgil who are describing him as an enormous giant standing in the ocean with his feet and his head reaching above the clouds while with ease holding heavens apart from earth.

But before the punishment, Atlas was in love with Pleione , one of the oceanids, the daughters of Oceanus and Tethys , who gave birth to Pleiades , seven in numbers, that were mentioned by most authors. There is a further explanation presented by Hyginus who mentiones in his Fabulae that Atlas and Pleione actually had twelve daughters and a son Hyas. Five of them were Hyades and were named after their brother who was killed by a lion and they had grieved for him so much that they died because of it and were placed among stars.

And when Hyades died, the rest of the sisters also brought death upon themselves by further grief and were placed among stars known as Pleiades.

According to Diodorus Siculus, Atlas also had a brother Hesperus and eventually married one of his daughters by the name of Hesperis. She bore him seven daughters that were named Atlantides , after their father, and Hesperides , after their mother. They were very beautiful and pure and therefore they caught the eye of Egyptian king who dispatched pirates to kidnap them.

They were later saved by Heracles. As mentioned above, the daughters of Atlas were kidnapped by pirates while they were playing in their garden and when the pirates stopped to have a meal on their route back to Egypt, Heracles, in one of his last labours, came along.

When he found out by the maidens what had happened, he slew the pirates on site and brought ladies back to Atlas. In his gratitude, Atlas helped Heracles in his labour , presumably giving him the apples from his daughter's garden, and also gave him lessons in astrology.

However, the mainstream belief is that Atlas was encountered by Heracles who came to the titan on the advice of Prometheus in his eleventh labour, when he had to retrieve apples of Hesperides. When the Olympians won the war, they punished their enemies. Menoitios was sent to Tartarus in the underworld. Atlas, however, was condemned to stand at the western edge of the Earth and hold the sky on his shoulders. Different sources vary in their descriptions of how Atlas held up the sky.

In Hesiod's "Theogony," Atlas stands at the western edge of the earth near the Hesperides, supporting the sky on his head and hands. The "Odyssey" describes Atlas standing in the sea holding the pillars that keep the earth and sky apart—in this version, he is the father of Calypso. Herodotus was the first to suggest that the sky rested atop Mount Atlas in the western part of northern Africa, and later traditions still report that Atlas was a man who metamorphosed into the mountain.

Perhaps the most famous myth involving Atlas is his role in one of the celebrated twelve labors of Hercules , the main version of which is found in Apollodorus of Athens's Library. In this legend, Hercules was required by Eurystheus to fetch the golden apples from the fabled gardens of the Hesperides, which were sacred to Hera and guarded by the fearsome hundred-headed dragon Ladon. Following the advice of Prometheus, Hercules asked Atlas in some versions the father of the Hesperides to get him the apples while he, with the help of Athena, took the sky onto his own shoulders for a while, giving the Titan a welcome respite.

Perhaps understandably, when returning with the golden apples, Atlas was reluctant to resume the burden of carrying the sky. However, the wily Hercules tricked the god into swapping places temporarily while the hero got himself some cushions to more easily bear the tremendous weight.

Of course, as soon as Atlas was back holding the heavens, Hercules and his golden booty hot-footed back to Mycenae. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Use precise geolocation data. To prevent this Atlas refused to let anyone visit his home and when Perseus asked for hospitality in his land, Atlas denied him. The most famous myth involving Atlas is his role in the Twelve Labours of Hercules. Hercules was commanded by King Eurystheus to steal the golden apples from the fabled gardens of the Hesperides.

These gardens were sacred to Hera and guarded by the deadly hundred-headed dragon Ladon. On the advice of Prometheus Hercules asked Atlas to retrieve the apples for him, while Hercules, aided by Athena would take the burden of the heavens on his shoulders giving Atlas a respite from his duty and also the freedom to steal the apples. Upon returning with the apples, Atlas was reluctant to resume his responsibility and attempted to leave Hercules with the weight of the heavens on his shoulders.

Hercules managed to trick the Titan into swapping places temporarily under the guise of acquiring cushions to put on his shoulders to aid in the weight bearing. As soon as the switch was made, with Atlas once again carrying the heavens Hercules took the golden apples and ran back to Mycenae.

In some versions of the story, Hercules instead built the Pillars of Hercules to hold the sky away from the earth, liberating Atlas from his burden. If you use any of the content on this page in your own work, please use the code below to cite this page as the source of the content.

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