nin Greekmythology, one of the titans (=the first gods who ruled the universe). After the Titans were defeated by zeus, Atlas was forced to hold the sky on his shoulders forever. In art, however, Atlas is usually shown holding the world on his shoulders, not the sky.
Originatlas
(1500-1600)Atlas giant in an ancient Greek story who had to hold up the sky; because his name was used as the title of a 16th-century book of maps