“Nobody can ride your back if your back's not bent”
This was my punishment, young hero, for being on the wrong side of the war that sent one brother to Tartarus and left me estranged from the others.
What Zeus never understood is that it was my choice to accept. If I were evil, I'd have let go of the heavens, destroying everything, myself included, when Zeus punished my brother for bringing fire to you, Prometheus' greatest creation. I choose to keep the earth and sky, Gaia and Uranus apart so that mankind can live. I still love my brother, even though we didn't agree, and my heart ached when Gaia told me how Zeus tortured him for helping your kind.
I admit...I am tired, and sometimes the temptation to lay down the weight is great. I have passed centuries looking at the dance of the celestial bodies, learning their secrets and teaching them to all who seek the knowledge of the heavens. I taught men how to find their way to distant lands by the guidance of the stars, and have seen their adventures as they slowly filled more and more of the blank areas on their maps...but these are only temporary distractions from the ache in my back.
I was weak when I tried to trick your half-brother Heracles into taking my burden. Perseus...you who have never lost that ability to move cannot imagine the intoxication of being able to stand up straight, to enjoy walking. It was for the best that Heracles managed to escape, he would never have had the patience to do my duty for so long. He also freed Prometheus from his torment and for that alone I hold him no malice.
Yes, being free, it was rather like flying after being earthbound all your life...you do understand. Since my taste of freedom, it has been harder for me to keep true to my choice, and I am afraid that one day I will once again give into weakness. What will happen when the world has no more secrets? If I can no longer share in the joy and excitement of mankind's discoveries, all I will have left to contemplate is this weight on my shoulders. I have no fondness for your father or the rest of the gods and would not weep to see them gone, but the rest of the world, the heavens...I cannot bear the thought of the chaos, yet I don't know how much longer I can endure. I am afraid of myself, can you imagine?
This is why I wish to ask you one favour, before you leave.
I know what you carry, hidden in your satchel. The head of the gorgon.
I, Atlas, beg you, Perseus son of Zeus, to give me the means never to be weak again.
Free me as Heracles freed my brother. Let me gaze into Medusa's eyes, and become one with the earth I stand on.
What Zeus never understood is that it was my choice to accept. If I were evil, I'd have let go of the heavens, destroying everything, myself included, when Zeus punished my brother for bringing fire to you, Prometheus' greatest creation. I choose to keep the earth and sky, Gaia and Uranus apart so that mankind can live. I still love my brother, even though we didn't agree, and my heart ached when Gaia told me how Zeus tortured him for helping your kind.
I admit...I am tired, and sometimes the temptation to lay down the weight is great. I have passed centuries looking at the dance of the celestial bodies, learning their secrets and teaching them to all who seek the knowledge of the heavens. I taught men how to find their way to distant lands by the guidance of the stars, and have seen their adventures as they slowly filled more and more of the blank areas on their maps...but these are only temporary distractions from the ache in my back.
I was weak when I tried to trick your half-brother Heracles into taking my burden. Perseus...you who have never lost that ability to move cannot imagine the intoxication of being able to stand up straight, to enjoy walking. It was for the best that Heracles managed to escape, he would never have had the patience to do my duty for so long. He also freed Prometheus from his torment and for that alone I hold him no malice.
Yes, being free, it was rather like flying after being earthbound all your life...you do understand. Since my taste of freedom, it has been harder for me to keep true to my choice, and I am afraid that one day I will once again give into weakness. What will happen when the world has no more secrets? If I can no longer share in the joy and excitement of mankind's discoveries, all I will have left to contemplate is this weight on my shoulders. I have no fondness for your father or the rest of the gods and would not weep to see them gone, but the rest of the world, the heavens...I cannot bear the thought of the chaos, yet I don't know how much longer I can endure. I am afraid of myself, can you imagine?
This is why I wish to ask you one favour, before you leave.
I know what you carry, hidden in your satchel. The head of the gorgon.
I, Atlas, beg you, Perseus son of Zeus, to give me the means never to be weak again.
Free me as Heracles freed my brother. Let me gaze into Medusa's eyes, and become one with the earth I stand on.