Atlas was one of the Titans, a race of primordial gods who ruled the cosmos before being overthrown by the Olympian gods led by Zeus. The Titans waged war against the Olympians for ten years before eventually being conquered by the younger gods. While most of his fellow Titans were imprisoned deep beneath the earth in the infernal realm of Tartarus, Atlas was instead condemned by Zeus to carry the heavens upon his shoulders for all eternity. Notes: Most commonly associated in superhero comics with strength and endurance, in Hellenic paganism he also granted knowledge of astronomy, astrology and navigation because of his role as the god who held up the heavens, granting him a kind of cosmic awareness.
Appearance List Literature: Homer’s Odyssey (c. 8th century BCE, English 1614), Homer’s Iliad (c. 8th century BC), Virgil’s Aeneid (29 to 19 BC), Metamorphoses (poem) by Ovid (8 CE), plays by Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Plato, Shakespeare, Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy (1308–1320), etc. Comics: Spy Smasher #8-9, Planet Comics #25, Kid Eternity #17, Whiz Comics #27, Daring Adventures #18, Captain Marvel Adventures #144, Four Color #1006, Hercules #4.
Sample Read Bulfinch’s Mythology by Thomas Bulfinch [Internet Archive]
Description Atlas was one of the Titans, a race of primordial gods who ruled the cosmos before being overthrown by the Olympian gods led by Zeus. The Titans waged war against the Olympians for ten years before eventually being conquered by the younger gods. While most of his fellow Titans were imprisoned deep beneath the earth in the infernal realm of Tartarus, Atlas was instead condemned by Zeus to carry the heavens upon his shoulders for all eternity. Notes: Most commonly associated in superhero comics with strength and endurance, in Hellenic paganism he also granted knowledge of astronomy, astrology and navigation because of his role as the god who held up the heavens, granting him a kind of cosmic awareness.
