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Atlas

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Atlas was forced by Zeus to hold up the sky.
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Courtesy of the Nova Development and Corel Corporations
Atlas was the leader of the giant Titans who fought a war against the gods of mount Olympus. The head of the gods was Zeus, who was fighting against his father, the Titan Cronos, to gain control of the world. When Zeus won the war, he severely punished Atlas by making him carry the sky on his shoulders.

Atlas was the father of the Pleiades, theHyades, and the Hesperides. The Hesperides were the guardians of a tree of golden apples. The earth goddess Gaea gave the tree to Hera, the wife of Zeus, as a wedding present. The tree was in a secret location. Nevertheless, an oracle told Atlas that a son of Zeus would one day steal the golden apples guarded by his daughters. For this reason, Atlas refused to let anyone visit his home.

One day, a famous Greek hero, Perseus passed by where Atlas was living. When Atlas denied hospitality to him, Perseus, showed Atlas the head of the Gorgon Medusa, which had the ability to turn anything into stone. The giant Atlas was immediately transformed into the homonymous mountains in northwest Africa.

Learn more about the Greek Atlas here!


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