Atlas Will Craft

About Atlas is the God of astronomy and navigation He is responsible for bearing the weight of the world on his shoulders

Family Atlas is the son of Iapetus(the god of craftsmanship and mortality) and Clymene(the goddess of renown, fame, and infamy) and the brother of Epimetheus, Menoetius, and Prometheus. Epimetheus is derived from the Greek word meaning ‘afterthought’ Prometheus is derived from the Greek word meaning ‘forethought’ Menoetius is derived from the Greek words meaning ‘doomed might’ and he was killed during the Titanomachy Atlas was the father of The Hesperides, The Hyades, Hyas, The Pleiades, Calypso, Dione, and Maera.

Famous family The Hesperides are daughters of Atlas and are the nymphs of evening and golden light of sunset. The Pleiades are the daughters of Atlas and together with the seven Hyades(sisterhood of nymphs that bring rain) were called the Atlantides, Dodonides, or Nysiades. Their names are Maia, Electra, Taygete, Alcyone, Celaeno, Sterope, and Merope. Calypso in another daughter of Atlas. She is a nymph who lived on the island of Ogygia. She gets most of her fame from Homer’s Odyssey where she detained Odysseus for several years.

Titanomachy and punishment Atlas lead the Titans into battle with the Olympian Gods for control of the heavens. Because the Titans lost Atlas was then forced to hold the world up on his shoulders. Atlas was also the god who instructed mankind in the art of astronomy, a tool which was used by sailors in navigation and farmers in measuring the seasons.

Hercules One of the Twelve Labors of the hero Heracles was to fetch some of the golden apples which grow in Hera's garden, tended by Atlas' daughters, the Hesperides, and guarded by the dragon Ladon. Heracles went to Atlas and offered to hold up the heavens while Atlas got the apples from his daughters. When Atlas came back with the apples, he attempted to trick Heracles into carrying the sky permanently by offering to deliver the apples. Heracles, suspecting Atlas did not intend to return, pretended to agree to Atlas' 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.

map The Atlas Mountains the he gave his name to

sources http://www.ancient.eu/Atlas/ http://greece.phillipmartin.info/home_04.htm http://www.theoi.com/Titan/TitanAtlas.html http://www.greekmythology.com/Titans/Atlas/atlas.html