Figures · Greek
Atlas Tattoo Meaning
Burden, sacrifice, endurance, and the weight carried for others.
Atlas was a Titan condemned by Zeus to hold up the celestial heavens for eternity. His name meant 'the bearer' and he stood at the western edge of the world, shoulders bent under the weight of the sky. When Hercules sought the golden apples, Atlas briefly transferred his burden - then had to be tricked into taking it back.
The image of Atlas bearing the world (later confused with the heavens) became the symbol of endurance under impossible weight. Renaissance maps bore his image, giving us the word 'atlas' for a collection of maps.
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