the pillar of heaven. approximation to the study of the image of the far west in greek and roman sources through the mythical figure of atlas

Atlas is a very complex mythical figure. A rebel Titan in epic tradition, he adopts the roles of both antagonist and helper of Herakles as the hero attempts to fulfill his task of stealing the apples of the Hesperides. Philosophers, geographers and historians consider him an Evemerized astronomer, a king in possession of fabulous riches, or identify him with a mountain. Often juggling positive and negative traits, Atlas’ various incarnations are connected to different themes such as divine genealogies, spatial and cosmogonic landmarks, Eastern influences, abundance in cattle and usurpation myths, which are all part of the image of the regions north and south of the Strait of Gibraltar created and spread by Graeco-Roman civilization. In this article, we propose a study of the literature and iconography related to this mythical character, as a way to give a different perspective to research about the mythical and literary geography of that area.