Atlas

Atlas is the Titan of endurance. As punishment for leading the armies of Cronus against the gods in the first Titanomachy, Zeus forced him to hold up the sky for all eternity. He is Cronus' second-in-command and is in charge of recruiting monsters for the Titans' cause. While Cronus was regenerating inside of his sarcophagus, Atlas seemed to be in charge of the army.
==History==
===Early Life===
Atlas was the Titan of endurance and part of the second generation of Titans. He was born to Iapetus (the Titan of Mortality and Lord of the West) and Clymene (an Oceanid-Goddess of Fame), and his aunt Rhea helped deliver him. He was also the elder brother of Prometheus, Epimetheus and Menoetius (the Titan gods of forethought, afterthought and rashness respectively). Unlike the sophisticated Prometheus, and the awkward and unintelligent Epimetheus, Atlas was brutal and arrogant, frequently bragging about his incredible physical strength, which was only matched by that of his infamous uncle Cronus.
===Re-Imprisoning his Uncles===
Hence, Atlas would soon grow up to become Cronus' most powerful follower, and the General of the Titan King's forces (Cronus' second-in-command). As a result, Atlas was also one of the Titan King's most loyal followers. Atlas would also frequently approach his wise and clairvoyant uncle Coeus with questions about the future. When Cronus grew disgusted by all of the unbearable noise that his Hekatonkeries and Elder Cyclopes brethren constantly made, as well as their revolting stench, he summoned Atlas and Hyperion. Together, the three strongest Titans overwhelmed their younger brothers, chained all six of them up, and hurled them into Tartarus once again, this time, guarded by Kampê, the most ferocious and terrifying monster in all of Tartarus that Cronus personally hired.
===Consorts and Children===
After marrying the Oceanid Pleione, Atlas fathered the five Hesperides, and the seven Pleiades. He also had an affair with Tethys, which resulted in the birth of the nymph Calypso.
Shortly thereafter, while remaining fiercely loyal to Cronus, Atlas rarely visited him Mount Othrys, claiming to be too busy. Cronus, however, knew that the actual reason was Atlas' secret fear of his uncle's might, scythe, and infamous temper.
===Zeus Rescues His Siblings===
However, years later, after Cronus hired a young Titan by the name of Zeus (actually a god in disguise), Atlas was very entertained by the latter's excellent singing, dancing, and "satyr jokes", and took to visiting Cronus on Mount Othrys much more often. Shortly thereafter, Zeus encouraged Atlas to participate in the newly established Titanic drinking contests (actually a trap that he planed on using to rescue his siblings). As the Titan King of Mount Othrys, Cronus would always win, since he could not let his siblings or nephews overcome him in anything.
One evening, when Atlas was dining with his uncles and cousins, Zeus prepared nectar mixed with sleeping potion for Atlas, and a powerful emetic for Cronus himself. As before, Zeus entertained them all with his great singing, dancing, and jokes. Near the end of the Titanic banquet, Zeus encouraged all of the Titans to have yet another drinking contest and handed out the prepared goblets. As before, Cronus won the contest, but the emetic caused him to disgorge all his swallowed children, while Atlas and all the other titans was temporarily knocked out (right onto Hyperion's knees) by the sleeping potion, and could not stop them from escaping.
===The First Titanomachy===
 Shortly thereafter, all six of Cronus' children quickly declared war against their father, as well as the other Titans, which resulted in the terrifying 11-year-long Titanomachy. Shortly before the war began, Atlas' aunt Rhea paid him a personal visit, attempting to convince him to remain neutral in the upcoming conflict. However, due to his fierce loyalty to Cronus, Atlas refused. However, Prometheus and Epimetheus, Atlas' younger brothers, as well as all the Titanesses preferred to stay neutral in this conflict, as Prometheus could foresee that the gods would win.
As Cronus' General and second-in-command, Atlas was chosen to lead the other Titans in battle. He and the other Titans initially had the upper hand in their 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 made by the Elder Cyclopes), as well as the aid of the Elder Cyclopes and Hekatonkeries, the gods finally prevailed.
During the final battle, Zeus used his Master Bolt to shear off the top of Mount Othrys, and hurl Cronus from his 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' Punishment===
In the aftermath of the battle, Atlas was chained up by the Elder Cyclopes, after which the Hekatonkeries forced him to kneel before Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades. Zeus proceeded to taunt his cousin Atlas, along with his uncles Hyperion, Iapetus, Crius, and Coeus. However, while the four Elder Titans hung their heads in shame, Atlas laughed right in Zeus' face, mocking what he considered to be the god's ignorance, revealing that the sky would collapse if the Titan Lords of the North, South, East and West were to be hurled into Tartarus. Zeus, however, already knew this, and revealed that he had already prepared a special punishment for the Titan General: to hold the weight of the entire sky on his own for all eternity. Hence, the Elder Cyclopes Arges, Brontes, and Steropes constructed a new central supporting column for the sky on Mount Othrys, chained Atlas to it, and forced the weight of the sky onto his shoulders.
===Meeting Perseus===
Many years later, Atlas encountered Perseus (a son of his arch-rival Zeus). The demigod hero was on his way home to present Medusa's Head as a gift to King Polydectes. He stopped by the Garden of the Hesperides and asked Atlas if he could rest and in exchange he would tell him of his adventures. However, Atlas had once been told a prophecy that a son of Zeus would steal the Golden Apples, so he promptly refused to let the demigod stay. Perseus knew that he could not best Atlas, and proceeded to leave.
===Eleventh Labor of Hercules===
Many years later, Atlas encountered Heracles (another son of Zeus and Perseus' great-grandson), who needed to obtain a Golden Apple from the Garden of the Hesperides for the eleventh of his Twelve Labors. Hercules could not gain the apples by himself as they were protected by the dragon Ladon, who was too powerful to fight, even for Hercules. Because of this, the son of Zeus went to Atlas to get the apples for him and in exchange, would hold the sky on his shoulders until he returned. Atlas readily agreed and went to get the apples, but when he returned, the Titan saw a chance to escape his punishment. Atlas offered to deliver the apples himself to King Eurystheus. Hercules, however, saw the trick and pretended to agree, but asked Atlas to hold the sky for only a moment, while Hercules padded his shoulders with his thick Nemean Lion's Pelt. This seemed reasonable to the Titan, who took the sky back, but Hercules simply took the apples from him and left, leaving an outraged and infuriated Atlas to endure his punishment once again.
Category:Male characters
Category:Titans
Category:The Dungeon Master's Theogony characters
Category:The Olympians Incarnate (novel) characters