Through the Endurance of Atlas

I hope that everyone had a great Labor's Day Weekend. Its time to get back work and endure to the next week.

Atlas
Bearer of Heaven
Titan God of Astronomy and Navigation
Titan God of Daring Thought and Endurance
Former General of Titans’ Army

Atlas, Titan God of Endurance and Weightlifting, was known for his strength and might. Atlas had huge muscles and was very large. He was very powerful with both his mind and his strength. Atlas was also known for being very pride and headstrong which got him into a lot of trouble in the end.
As Kronos' General and second-in-command, Atlas was chosen to lead the other Titans in battle. He initially had the upper hand in his battles with the gods, since he was a very skilled swordsman and a much more experienced warrior. Hence, Atlas was initially known as the "terror of the gods." However, the gods quickly became skilled warriors as well, and with the help of their new extremely powerful weapons (Zeus' Master Bolt, Poseidon's Trident, and Hades' Helm of Darkness), as well as the aid of the Elder Cyclopes and Hekatonkheires, the gods finally prevailed.
During the final battle, Zeus used his Master Bolt to shear off the top of Mount Othrys, and hurl Kronos from his Black Throne, defeating the Titan King. Shortly thereafter, the gods invaded the ruins of Mount Othrys, and finally overwhelmed the remaining Titans (including Atlas himself).
Atlas, along with his father Hyperion, sided with the Titans in their war against the Olympians, the Titanomachy. His brothers Prometheus and Epimetheus weighed the odds and betrayed the other Titans by forming an alliance with the Olympians. When the Titans were defeated, many of them were confined to Tartarus. Instead of being confined to Tartarus, like the other Titans, Atlas was cursed to carry the weight of the heaven on his shoulders. He accidently broke the original pillar that held the heaven in the war. So his punishment is to carry the heaven.
Zeus seduced Danae, an Argive Princess, and she gave birth to Perseus. When Polydectes, the ruler of the island of Seriphos, sought the hand of Danae as a bride, he sent Perseus on a foolish mission to slay Medusa the Gorgon in order to be rid of him. However, Perseus was protected by Athena, who instructed him to travel to the Garden of the Hesperides for weapons capable of slaying Medusa from Atlas’s daughters, Hesperides.
On the way back from killing Medusa, Perseus asked Atlas for hospitality. The Hesperides offered Perseus food and lodging after he had slew Medusa and drugged Ladon in order to have Perseus stay with them, but Perseus also wanted to take some apples as a gift for his mother. Recalling the warning of Themis, Atlas saw him and threatened him by shaking the mountains on top of him, effectively scaring off Perseus who used Medusa's gaze to turn him to stone. However, due to the fact that Atlas was immortal, Medusa's power had only a partial effect on him.
One of the labors of Hercules (Greek name: Heracles), the grandson of Perseus, was to obtain some of the golden apples that were guarded by the Hesperides. Hercules asked Atlas to help him get the apples. Seeing an opportunity to escape from the burden of holding up the heavens, Atlas asked Hercules to take over the task while he obtained the apples. Hercules agreed. When Atlas returned with the apples, he told Hercules that he would deliver them for him to spare him for the wrath of Hera. His intention was to leave Hercules to support the heavens. However, Hercules asked Atlas to take back the heavens for just a moment so that he could adjust his burden. When Atlas did this, Hercules walked away with the apples.
In returning the Hera’s apples to garden, Hercules met up with an upset Atlas.  Hercules, feel sorry for tricking Atlas, built two great pillars known today as the Pillars of Hercules to support the heavens and free Atlas. The two spent awhile in each other company and embraced. After Hercules left, Atlas stayed the site to guard the pillars, uniting with his family and stay away from Zeus’s wrath.
At some point under unresolved means, Jupiter Optimus Maximus (Roman form of Zeus) offered Atlas a place among the Roman gods if he would fight alongside them against other menaces against the Roman gods and empire. He agreed to Jupiter’s proposed with a forgiveness clause for his past deed. Atlas was among the Roman Olympians as they fought back against the Celtic gods of the Gaul tribes attacking Rome and against the Asgardian gods of the Germanic tribes attacking the Roman outposts in Western Europe.
What is he look like today? Well, Atlas looked like "a living statue", with dark slicked-back hair, eyes "like stone", light brown skin, and a very muscular build. He is very tall and muscular with a brutal face, huge shoulders, and hands that could "snap a flagpole in half." He is similar to a modern day bodybuilder but not too overly muscle. Probably like is son Zeb Atlas.
The moral of my story is, if there is ever a huge war between Titans and Olympians, do not take sides. 

Bodies of Atlas






Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

History of Homosexual: Ancient Greece

Image
How we from being happily accept in society to being hate and have to fight for equality? Let start begin in the ancient world work our way to the source of the problem. The Ancient Greece "The noble lover of beauty engages in love wherever he sees excellence and splendid natural endowment without regard for any difference in physiological detail." - Plutarch The ancient Greeks are widely known for their gay exploits. Many people are aware of Greek homosexual love poetry, the same-sex relations of Greek gods and heroes, and the gay relationship between Alexander the Great and Hephaestion. It is important in the beginning to define our vocabulary. The term ’homosexuality’ as it is used and understood today is not mainly applicable to Greek of ancient times for three reasons: First of all, most Greeks were bisexual. Second, homosexuality and 'gay' as sexual identities are recent developments. They were emerged only in the 2Oth Century (our idea of what i...
Please read more »

Seven Wonders of the World: Colossus of Rhodes

Image
Travelers to the New York City harbor see a marvelous sight. Standing on a small island in the harbor is an immense statue of a robed woman, holding a book and lifting a torch to the sky. It is sometimes referred to as the "Modern Colossus," but more often called the Statue of Liberty. This awe-inspiring statue was a gift from France to America and is easily recognized by people around the world. What many visitors to this shrine to freedom don't know is that the statue, the "Modern Colossus," is the echo of another statue, the original colossus, which stood over two thousand years ago at the entrance to another busy harbor on the Island of Rhodes. In the late 4th century BC, Rhodes, allied with Ptolemy I of Egypt, prevented a massive invasion staged by their common enemy, Antigonus I Monophthalmus and his son Demetrius. In 304 BC a relief force of ships sent by Ptolemy arrived, and Antigonus's army abandoned the siege, leaving most of their siege equi...
Please read more »

Daily life of Roman life: Slavery

Image
Slavery had a long history in the ancient world and was practiced in Ancient Egypt and Greece, as well as Rome. Most slaves during the Roman Empire were foreigners and, unlike in modern times, Roman slavery was not based on race. Slaves were considered property under Roman law and had no legal personhood. Unlike Roman citizens, they could be subjected to corporal punishment, sexual exploitation (prostitutes were often slaves), torture, and summary execution. The testimony of a slave could not be accepted in a court of law unless the slave was tortured—a practice based on the belief that slaves in a position to be privy to their masters' affairs would be too virtuously loyal to reveal damaging evidence unless coerced (yeah right). Over time, however, slaves gained increased legal protection, including the right to file complaints against their masters. How did people become Roman Slaves? People became slaves among the Romans by the following ways: Prisoners of war Sailors ...
Please read more »