By the Gods!
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Atlas
The big man with the mother of all back pain, Atlas is one of the more famed Titans from the world of Greek myth. He was the son of Iapetus and Asia by Hesiod’s account (Hesiod being the author of the famed Theogony, from which a great deal of our info on Greek myth comes), but Hyginus believed him to be the son of Aether and Gaia. Regardless of his parentage, Atlas was a big strong fella who found himself on the losing team after the war between the Olympians and the Titans (the Titanomachy).
Atlas was undoubtedly a serious force for the Titans, but they still couldn’t quite get it done, due in part to Atlas’ brothers Prometheus and Epimetheus betraying their own kind to form an alliance with the Olympians. When Zeus and his cohorts had won out, they banished most of the Titans to Tartarus, the abyssal dungeon beneath even the Underworld. Atlas, however, with a nod to his incredible strength and apropos parentage, was sentenced to the western edge of the world and charged with holding up Uranus (the sky) on his shoulders forever. That’s a lot of pressure to put on a guy.
Though he’s often shown supporting the earth, this is an incorrect portrayal. He was originally depicted shouldering a great celestial orb, speckled with the sun, stars, and other knick-knacks of the firmament.
Atlas, in some stories, was turned to stone, and his tremendous body formed the Atlas mountain range in Northern Africa. In another tale, Heracles has a wacky adventure with the tragically trapped Titan, with hilarious results.
Hades
We’ve only mentioned this guy in passing up until now, so let’s give him the recognition he deserves. Hades, the Greek god of the Underworld, was/is a pretty big deal. He was the son of the Titans Cronus and Rhea, and as such was the brother of Zeus, Poseidon, Hera, Demeter and Hestia. After Cronus was overthrown by the efforts of the younger generation of gods, the universe was divided between the three high-ranking brothers of the winning team: Zeus took the sky, Poseidon got the seas, and Hades got the Underworld. One of the only bright spots in the dark god’s life was his lovely wife Persephone, with whom he had a bit of a roller coaster relationship.
Dubbed by Homer as the “host of many,” (since the idea was that everyone would end up gracing his hall at one point or another) he was also known as Polydegmon, which meant “receiver of many guests.” It was also usual, among the ancient Greeks, to call Hades by the title of Pluto, which meant “giver of wealth;” many sacrifices were thrown his way, as it wasn’t the worst idea in the world to please the dude that would be the caretaker of your soul for eternity.
Chances are you’ve seen Hades in some form of popular culture or another. There’s a fascination with the afterlife that persists from ancient days to now, though the tone has certainly varied by date and region. Neither the Greeks nor the Romans ever thought of Hades as an evil force like Satan in Christianity. He was certainly a grim deity, but malicious he was not. The Underworld was seen as very physical place––just a remote one. Deep under the earth, it could only be reached by a subterranean river known as Styx. Beyond that, the entrance was guarded by the three-headed dog Cerberus, who ensured no soul escaped. Most of the time Cerberus was pretty good at his job… most of the time.
Ophiucus/Asclepius
Many typical horoscope fans were shocked to hear the addition of a 13th sign to the Zodiac. The lucky constellation to be put in the infamous spotlight was Ophiucus the serpent bearer, formerly known as Serpentarius. But like most constellations, there is an origin to why they’re placed in the heavens. So who was Ophiucus? And for the sideline, the 13th sign only applies to those who follow the sidereal Zodiac - most Americans and the rest of western civilization follow the WESTERN Zodiac - so relax you’re still the sign you were born under.
Anyways back to the story. Ophiucus is actually Asklepios (Asclepius, Aesculapius in Latin ), the Greek God of Medicine. Not many know of Asclepius, however his legacy still impacts the present. He was the son of Olympian Apollo and the Trikkaian Princess Coronis. Unfortunately for the mother, she was caught being unfaithful to her godly spouse and was punished by the god by laying her out on a funeral pyre, however Hermes saved the infant Asclepius. In lighter versions, she died in childbirth. As a boy, Asclepius––like many would-be heroes and kings––was raised and educated by Chiron, the centaur and was taught the art of healing and medicine. In time he surpassed his father in healing and soon he was deified all over ancient Greece. His priests became the first doctors, but Asclepius himself obtained the cures from listening to the dreams of his patients.
His trademark logo, A staff entwined by a serpent came from a legend in which he was commanded to revive a patient. Deep in meditation a snake crept up on his staff and Asclepius struck the serpent again and again as it tried to flee. Another snake came out of the same hole the first one came out of and placed an herb on its head. Both snakes fled - seeing what happened tried the same herb on its patient, and what a miracle the patient was revived. Since then, the snake was under the guardianship of Asclepius.
Asclepius did many wonders healing the sick and reviving the dead. Hades complained to Zeus he was being cheated dead souls and the Fates got the thread of life all tangled up, unable to sever it. Apollo reasoned that Asclepius was doing it for the benevolent reasons. However, Zeus grew furious when he heard that Asclepius offered to resurrect the dead in exchange for gold. He threw a thunderbolt at Asclepius. In honor of the good deeds he performed he was placed in the heavens as the constellation Ophiucus, along with his serpent.
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