Why Did Ancient Greeks Think Atlas Held Up the Sky?

💡 The Answer

• The Titan Atlas was punished by Zeus to hold up the sky, not the Earth.
• This stems from a mistranslation of Homer's description of Atlas holding 'the pillars of heaven'.
• Later art and literature solidified the misconception of him carrying the world.
• The sky was imagined as a solid dome that required immense strength to support.