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atlas (geography)

atlas

A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture | 2000 | | Copyright

atlas, atlantis (pl. atlantes, atlantides). Well-developed, Sculptured, male figure, rather than a column, used as a support for an entablature, or other architectural element, e.g. balcony. In form, the figure seems to sustain a great burden, and the arms and shoulders are used to hold up the superstructure, unlike a canephora, caryatid, or telamon, which supports the entablature on its head. Some sources state that atlantes (or gigantes) were Greek equivalents of Roman telamones, and that they were also called Persians, but male standing figures dressed in oriental fashion, telamones (often with Egyptianizing attributes), canephorae, and caryatides are always straight and unbowed, and are wholly unlike atlantes, which often occur in Baroque architecture, especially in Central Europe. The Greek temple of Zeus Olympius, Agraces (or Agrigentum), had atlantes standing on screen-walls between the engaged Doric columns to help to support the entablature with heads and arms (c.480 BC).

Bibliography

J. Curl (2001);
Dinsmoor (1950)
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JAMES STEVENS CURL. "atlas." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 25 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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Atlas

The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea | 2006 | Copyright

Atlas, in Greek mythology a brother of Prometheus who was originally a marine god before Perseus showed him the Gorgon's head and turned him into a rock mountain supporting the heavens. A mythical god, or Titan, he gave his name to the Atlas Mountains at the western end of the Mediterranean and also to the Atlantic Ocean. In the Odyssey (1. 52) Homer describes him as ‘one who knows the depths of the whole sea, and keeps the tall pillars which hold heaven and earth asunder’. In his famous book of maps, the inventor of the Mercator projection, Gerardus Mercator, used a picture of Atlas supporting the heavens as a frontispiece, and this use has led to the term ‘atlas’ being used to describe a volume of maps.

See also chartmaking.
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Atlas Mountains

Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names | 2005 | | Copyright

Atlas Mountains (Jabal al‐Atlas), Morocco‐Algeria‐Tunisia They are said to take their name from the Titan, Atlas, who, in Greek mythology, was believed to hold up the sky. He was supposed at first to support the pillars which had their bases in the sea, the Atlantic Ocean, beyond the western horizon and which kept the sky and earth apart. When Atlas refused Perseus hospitality Perseus showed him the head of the Gorgon Medusa which turned Atlas into stone. Subsequently his name was given to the mountains in north‐west Africa which in their grandeur could be perceived to be keeping the sky and the earth apart. The actual origin of the name is not known.
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JOHN EVERETT-HEATH. "Atlas Mountains." Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 25 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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Atlas

The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable | 2006 | | Copyright

Atlas in Greek mythology, a Titan who was punished for his part in the revolt against Zeus by being made to support the heavens (a popular explanation of why the sky does not fall). He became identified with the Atlas Mountains. According to a later story Perseus, with the aid of Medusa's head, turned Atlas into a mountain.

The word atlas to designate a collection of maps in a volume, is said to be derived from a representation of Atlas supporting the heavens placed as a frontispiece to early works of this kind, and to have been first used by the Flemish cartographer Gerard Mercator in the 16th century.
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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Atlas." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 25 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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atlas

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English | 2009 | Copyright

at·las / ˈatləs/ • n. 1. (pl. at·las·es ) a book of maps or charts: I looked in the atlas to find a map of Italy. ∎  a book of illustrations or diagrams on any subject. 2. (pl. at·las·es ) (also atlas vertebra) Anat. the topmost vertebra of the backbone, articulating with the occipital bone of the skull. 3. (pl. at·lan·tes / atˈlantēz/ ) Archit. a stone carving of a male figure, used as a column to support the entablature of a Greek or Greek-style building.

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Atlas

A Dictionary of Computing | 2004 | | Copyright

Atlas The first computer to incorporate many features now considered standard, including: a virtual (logical) address space larger than the actual (physical) address space; a one-level memory using core backed by drum; an architecture based on the assumption of a software operating system, with hardware features to assist the software. The design commenced in 1956 under Tom Kilburn at the University of Manchester, UK, and the project was supported from 1958 by Ferranti Ltd. The prototype was operating in 1961 and production models appeared in 1963. See also virtual machine.
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JOHN DAINTITH. "Atlas." A Dictionary of Computing. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 25 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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Atlas

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. | 2011 | Copyright

Atlas , in Greek mythology, a Titan ; son of Iapetus and Clymene and the brother of Prometheus. When the Titans were defeated, Atlas was condemned to hold the sky on his shoulders for all eternity—a mythical explanation of why the sky does not fall. Hercules shouldered the burden in exchange for Atlas fetching him the apples of the Hesperides. He is identified with the Atlas mountains in NW Africa. He was the father of Calliope and the Pleiades.

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atlas

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. | 2011 | Copyright

atlas in geography, 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. In astronomy, 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. Although the first known atlas was compiled by the Greek geographer Ptolemy in the 2d cent. AD, 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 frontispiece was 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.

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atlas

The Oxford Dictionary of Art | 2004 | | Copyright

atlas (plural: atlantes). A sculpted male figure functioning as a column or other supporting feature in architecture, particularly popular in the Baroque period. In Greek mythology, Atlas was the giant who held up the sky, and atlantes are often depicted so as to suggest the strain of carrying a huge weight on the shoulders. The female equivalent—the caryatid—is, in contrast, usually shown standing serenely upright.
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IAN CHILVERS. "atlas." The Oxford Dictionary of Art. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 25 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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atlas

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists | 2003 | | Copyright

atlas (pl. atlantes). A sculpted male figure functioning as a column or other supporting feature in architecture, particularly popular in the Baroque period. In Greek mythology, Atlas was the giant who held up the sky, and atlantes are often depicted so as to suggest the strain of carrying a huge weight on the shoulders. The female equivalent—the caryatid—is, in contrast, usually shown standing serenely upright.
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IAN CHILVERS. "atlas." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 25 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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Atlas

A Dictionary of Astronomy | 1997 | Copyright

Atlas The second-closest satellite of Saturn, distance 137 700 km, orbital period 0.602 days; also known as Saturn XV. It was discovered in 1980 on images from the Voyager 1 spacecraft. It is 37 × 34 × 27 km in size, and orbits at the outer edge of Saturn's A Ring, where its gravitational field affects the ring structure.
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Atlas

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English | 2009 | Copyright

At·las / ˈatləs/ Greek Mythol. one of the Titans, who was punished for his part in their revolt against Zeus by being made to support the heavens. DERIVATIVES: At·lan·te·an / ˌatlanˈtēən; atˈlantēən/ adj.

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atlas

A Dictionary of Biology | 2004 | Copyright

atlas The first cervical vertebra, a ringlike bone that joins the skull to the vertebral column in terrestrial vertebrates. In advanced vertebrates articulation between the skull and atlas permits nodding movements of the head. See also axis.
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atlas

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology | 1996 | | Copyright

atlas supporter, mainstay XVI; volume of maps XVII. The Titan Atlas (prec.) was often figured with the terrestrial globe on his shoulders, whence the application of the name to a collection of maps (XVII).
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T. F. HOAD. "atlas." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 25 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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Atlas

A Dictionary of Earth Sciences | 1999 | | Copyright

Atlas (Saturn XV) One of the lesser satellites of Saturn, discovered in 1980 by Voyager 1, with a radius measuring 18.5 × 17.2 × 13.5 km; visual albedo 0.9.
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AILSA ALLABY and MICHAEL ALLABY. "Atlas." A Dictionary of Earth Sciences. 1999. Encyclopedia.com. 25 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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Atlas

World Encyclopedia | 2005 | Copyright

Atlas In Greek mythology, one of the Titans, brother of Prometheus. Having fought against Zeus, he was condemned to hold up the heavens.
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Atlas

The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military | 2001 | Copyright

Atlas the first intercontinental ballistic missile built by the United States, tested in 1958 and deployed in 1959. See also Minuteman.
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atlas

A Dictionary of Nursing | 2008 | Copyright

atlas (at-lăs) n. the first cervical vertebra, by means of which the skull is articulated to the backbone.
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atlas

Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes | 2007 | Copyright

atlas •Callas, callous, callus, Dallas, Pallas, phallus •Nablus • manless •hapless, mapless •atlas, fatless, hatless •braless, parlous •armless • artless •jealous, zealous •endless • legless • sexless • airless •talus • bacillus • windlass • Nicklaus •obelus • strobilus •acidophilus, Theophilus •angelus • Aeschylus • perilous •scurrilous • Wenceslas • nautilus •Silas, stylus •jobless •godless, rodless •Patroclus • topless • coxless •lawless, oarless •Aeolus, alveolus, bolas, bolus, gladiolus, holus-bolus, solus, toeless •Troilus • Douglas • useless • Tibullus •garrulous • querulous • fabulous •miraculous • calculus • famulus •crapulous • patulous • nebulous •credulous, sedulous •pendulous • regulus •emulous, tremulous •bibulous • acidulous •meticulous, ridiculous •mimulus, stimulus •scrofulous • flocculus • Romulus •populace, populous •convolvulus •altocumulus, cirrocumulus, cumulus, stratocumulus, tumulus •scrupulous •furunculous, homunculus, ranunculus •Catullus • troublous •gunless, sunless •cutlass, gutless •earless • Heliogabalus •libellous (US libelous) • discobolus •scandalous • Daedalus • astragalus •Nicholas • anomalous • Sardanapalus •tantalus •marvellous (US marvelous) •frivolous • furless • surplus

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Free newspaper and magazine articles

Atlas mapping in the 21st century.
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