Their story
Atlas is a Titan, son of Iapetus and brother of Prometheus. After the war of the Titans, Zeus condemned him to hold up the sky at the western edge of the world, near the Hesperides. Heracles took the sky from him while Atlas fetched the golden apples, and then tricked him into taking it back. He was father of the Pleiades and of Calypso.
Best times to give to them
- When carrying a heavy load for others
- On clear nights, as he was linked with astronomy
What they like being given
- A stone
- Fresh water
- Time given to someone overburdened
How to honour them
- Notice the burdens you carry and ask whether some can be shared.
- Offer to hold something for someone else, even for a short while.
How they can help you
- Endurance
- Sharing burdens
- Study of the stars
Symbols
- globe of the heavens
- mountain
- pillars
The image of Atlas holding a globe of the Earth is a later confusion; he held the heavens.
Sources
- Hesiod, Theogony 507-520, 746-750
- Homer, Odyssey 1.52-54
- Apollodorus, Library 2.5.11