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ATLAS defined...

Pronunciation: ãt'lus
Function: noun
Etymology: Latin Atlant-, Atlas, from Greek

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The many definitions of ATLAS:

ATLAS in Greek Mythology:

Greek sculpture of Atlas (replica)

Atlas is a scion of the Titans, the Greek race of giants, and the son of Iapetus and the nymph Clymene. He is the father of the Hesperides, the Hyades and the Pleiades. He was also thought to be the king of legendary Atlantis ("Land of Atlas").

In the revolt of the Titans against the gods of the Olympic, Atlas stormed the heavens. As punishment for his deed, Zeus condemned Atlas to forever bear the heavens upon his shoulders - a mythical explanation of why the sky does not fall. The name Atlas means "bearer" or "endurer".

On the place where Atlas stood, now lies Mount Atlas in north-western Africa among the Atlas Mountains (see ATLAS in Geography below). Atlas was the father of Calliope and the Pleiades. In art, Atlas is usually depicted as a man bearing a globe.

ATLAS in Geography:

Atlas Mountains
Morocco

Generally used to describe a collection of maps or charts. It usually includes data on various features of a country, e.g., its topography, natural resources, climate, and population, as well as its agriculture and main industries.

Although the first known atlas was compiled by the Greek geographer Ptolemy in the 2nd century A.D., its modern form was introduced in 1570 with the publication of Theatrum Orbis Terrarum by the Flemish geographer Abraham Ortelius. In 1595 his close friend Gerardus Mercator published Atlas Sive Cosmographicae. Its cover featured a figure of the titan Atlas holding a globe on his shoulders. The name Atlas subsequently came to be applied to volumes of maps and information in this format.

Also related to geography, the Atlas Mountains are a system of ranges and plateaus in NW Africa, extending c.1,500 mi (2,410 km) from SW Morocco, through N Algeria, to N Tunisia; Jebel Toubkal (13,671 ft/4,167 m), in SW Morocco, is the highest peak. The Atlas mountain range predominantly consists of folded sedimentary rock and were uplifted during the late Jurassic period. Geologically related to the Alpine system of Europe, they are separated from the Sierra Nevada of Spain by the Strait of Gibraltar and from Sicily and the Apennines of Italy by the Mediterranean Sea; the Canary Islands are a westward extension. The Atlas system is most rugged in Morocco, where, from north to south, the Rif (or Rif Atlas), Middle Atlas, High or Grand Atlas (the highest part of the system), and Anti-Atlas are found; fertile lowlands separate the ranges.

ATLAS in Astronomy:

Star atlas

A star atlas is a collection of maps or photographs covering much or all of the celestial sphere and showing the locations of stars and other objects.

Also related to astronomy, Atlas is one of the 18 named moons, or natural satellites, of Saturn, second in distance from the planet. Atlas is a small, irregularly shaped (nonspherical) body measuring about 25 mi (40 km) by 12.5 mi (20 km); it orbits Saturn at a mean distance of 85,544 mi (137,670 km), and has an orbital period of 0.6019 earth days—the rotational period is unknown but is assumed to be the same as the orbital period. Atlas was discovered by Richard J. Terrile in 1980 from photographs taken by Voyager 1 during its encounter with Saturn. Atlas is probably a shepherd satellite (a moon that limits the extent of a planetary ring through gravitational forces) of Saturn's A ring.

ATLAS in Architecture:

Prince's Garden
Aranjuez, Spain

A standing or kneeling male figures serving as supports of entablatures, in place of a column or pier. Such figures are posed as if supporting great weights. This style began during Classical architecture of ancient Greece and Rome, from the 5th century BC in Greece to the 3rd century AD in Rome. The earliest (c.480-460 BC) and most important example from antiquity is in the Greek temple of Zeus at Agrigento, Sicily. The baroque architecture of the 17th cent. made considerable use of atlantes, as did the classical revival in the early 19th cent. Female supporting figures are called caryatids.

ATLAS in Anatomy:

Dorsal (rear) view of human spinal cord

The atlas vertebra is the first of the seven cervical vertebrae, and is called such because it bears the direct weight of the skull, just as the mythical Greek titan Atlas bore the world on his shoulders. The atlas vertebra meets with the occipital condyles which flank the foramen magnum in the basilar part of the occipital bone of the skull. This junction forms the atlanto-occipital joint, and is responsible for the primary articulation between the spine and the skull. It is the only vertebra in the spine which has no vertebral body. The atlas vertebra, in turn rests upon the axis vertebra, which is the second of the cervical vertebra in the spine, with the articulation between these two vertebra occurring at lateral articular surfaces and an unique juncture between a concave facet (on the atlas) and an upward-protruding structure on the axis called a dens.

ATLAS in New York City:

Atlas Statue
Rockefeller Center, NYC

Located in New York City's Rockefeller Center, directly across the street from St. Patrick's Cathedral, is this two ton statue of Atlas; a companion piece to Prometheus, and the largest sculptural work at Rockefeller Center. Atlas carries the heavens upon his shoulders as punishment for defying Zeus. Designed and cast in 1936 by Lee Lawrie and Rene Chambellan, the statue's exaggerated musculature and stylized body are characteristic of the Art Deco style.

The north-south axis of the armillary sphere on his shoulders points to the North Star as viewed from New York City. Laid across Atlas's shoulders is a wide, curved beam that displays a frieze of the traditional symbols for Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Adjacent to Earth (over Atlas's right forearm) is a small crescent symbolizing the Moon. Affixed to one of the sphere's rings are symbols for twelve constellations through which the sun passes during the year.

ATLAS Travel Directory:

Atlas Travel Directory

Atlas Travel Directory

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ATLAS Travel Search:

Atlas Travel Search

Atlas Travel Search

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