Atlas and Perseus, Greek Mythology

Atlas and Perseus, Greek Mythology

According to Ovid a giant named Atlas tried to drive a wandering Perseus from the place where the Atlas mountains now stand. Perseus revealed Medusa's head, turning Atlas to stone (those very mountains) when he tried to drive him away. In classical Greek mythology, Atlas was the primordial Titan who held up the celestial sphere. He is also the titan of astronomy and navigation. Atlas and his brother Menoetius sided with the Titans in their war against the Olympians, the Titanomachy. When the Titans were defeated, many of them were confined to Tartarus, but Zeus condemned Atlas to stand at the western edge of Gaia (the Earth) and hold up Uranus on his shoulders, to prevent the two from resuming their primordial embrace. A common misconception today is that Atlas was forced to hold the Earth on his shoulders, but Classical art shows Atlas holding the celestial spheres, not a globe. Illustration originally captioned: Perseus showing Atlas the head of Medusa, by Bauer (1703 edition).

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