in Greek mythology, one of the
Titans, a
group of gods who fought an unsuccessful
war against the gods of Olympus (a mountain in Greece believed to be the
home of the
major Greek gods, including
Zeus, the
king of the gods). To punish
Atlas (famous for his strength) for his part in this
war,
Zeus condemned him to
hold the sky upon his
shoulders for eternity. Since about the sixteenth century,
pictures of
Atlas and the burden he supports (usually represented as the earth rather than the sky) have been used to decorate maps or as the first
page of books containing them. The
word atlas has thus come to be used as the name for a book consisting of maps.