Atlas_3

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Of Heracles and Atlas

From The Atlas Variations, by Athanasios (121):

When Heracles came upon Atlas, the titan had grown old and tired.

"I have borne the weight of the celestial spheres for a billion years," he said. "All the comings and goings of mortals, the tragedies of chance, the pointless wars, have left me weak. Soon I will falter, and the celestial spheres will fall and shatter. You must take my place."

But Heracles was hesitant.

"I am young and strong and virile; I have many women yet to bed and many wondrous feats yet to perform. What a waste it would be, to spend my life holding up the world instead. And yet it must be done! So what choice do I have?"

Saddened by the imminent loss of his heroic life, Heracles went for one last swim in the Ionian Sea. There, on storied Ithaca, he met a clever old man of many devices. "The answer you seek, son of Zeus, does not lie within you. Rather it lies in the world around you, and in what you can make of it."

And so Heracles used his divine strength to build two great pillars of stone, which even today hold up the sky; and Atlas was liberated forever.