In Greek mythology, Atlas ("he who dares or suffers") was the son of the TitanIapetus and the nymphClymene, and brother of Prometheus. He was the father of the Hesperides, Maera, the Hyades, Calypso and the Pleiades. Because Atlas fought on the side of the Titans in the war with the gods of Mount Olympus, Zeus punished him with the burden of carrying the heavens and Earth upon his shoulders. Atlas was turned to stone by Perseus using Medusa's head in the place where the Atlas mountains now stand, after he threatened Perseus when wanting to speak to his father Zeus about the punishment that had fallen upon him. He is also known as the king of Atlantis.
As part of his Twelve Labors, the hero Heracles tricked Atlas into retrieving some of the golden apples of the Hesperides for him by offering to hold the heavens for a little while. Upon his return with the apples, Atlas decided not to take the heavens back from Heracles. Heracles tricked him again by agreeing to take his place if he would only take the sky again for a few minutes so Heracles could rearrange his cloak as padding on his shoulders. Atlas agreed and Heracles left.
Atlas continues to be a commonly used icon in western culture (and advertising), as a symbol of strength or stoic endurance. In such contemporary depictions, he is often shown kneeling over on one knee while supporting an enormous round globe on his back and shoulders, an image unlikely to be similar to how the ancient Greeks imagined his carrying of the flat earth. "Atlas" is also the presently used name of many objects and places (see Atlas: disambiguation).
