He was a Titan and sided with the other Titans in the war between the Titans and Olympians. When Cronus got tired of the war, Atlas took over the command. He did not have any special power, he just was a god.
Carry the weight of the heavens
The book of maps is named an "atlas," after the titan Atlas who was cursed by Zeus to hold up the heavens for eternity.
Atlas was punished by Zeus who made him hold up the heavens.
Atlas was forced to hold up the heavens forever because he opposed Zeus.
According to the Titanomachy, Zeus punished Atlas for joining the other Titans (and not his brothers Prometheus and Epimetheus) by condemning him to support Ouranos (Uranus - the heavens) on this shoulders for eternity.
In Greek mythology, the giant who supports heaven on his shoulders is Atlas. He was a Titan condemned by Zeus to carry the heavens for eternity.
In Greek mythology, the Titan Atlas was condemned by Zeus to support the heavens on his shoulders as punishment for his involvement in the Titanomachy, the war between the Titans and the Olympian gods.
Because Atlas was on the losing side of a war against the Titans (Zeus, Apollo, Aphrodite, et al) Zeus punished him by having him hold up the skies (heavens) forever. Today Atlas is often depicted as holding up the Earth but that's incorrect.
The ruler of the heavens before Zeus was his father Kronos.
In Greek mythology, Atlas was punished by Zeus and tasked with holding up the sky, not the world. The misconception of Atlas holding up the world likely comes from confusion with the Titan Atlas' role in supporting the heavens.
Atlas deserved his punishment from Zeus because he defied the gods by siding with the Titans during the Titanomachy, a great war against the Olympians. As a result of his rebellion, Zeus sentenced him to bear the weight of the heavens on his shoulders for eternity, symbolizing the consequences of opposing divine authority. This punishment served as a reminder of the power of the gods and the importance of loyalty. Thus, Atlas’s fate was a direct consequence of his choices in the cosmic conflict.
The Titan condemned by Zeus to support the heavens is Atlas. After the Titanomachy, the war between the Titans and the Olympian gods, Zeus punished Atlas for his role in opposing the gods by forcing him to hold up the sky, often depicted as carrying the celestial sphere on his shoulders. This punishment symbolizes the weight of responsibility and the burden of rebellion against the Olympian order.