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PERSEUS AND ATLAS
After the slaughter of Medusa, Perseus, bearing with him the head
of the Gorgon, flew far and wide, over land and sea. As night came
on, he reached the western limit of the earth, where the sun goes
down. Here he would gladly have rested till morning. It was the
realm of King Atlas, whose bulk surpassed that of all other men.
He was rich in flocks and herds and had no neighbor or rival to
dispute his state. But his chief pride was in his gardens, whose
fruit was of gold, hanging from golden branches, half hid with
golden leaves. Perseus said to him, "I come as a guest. If you
honor illustrious descent, I claim Jupiter for my father; if
mighty deeds, I plead the conquest of the Gorgon. I seek rest and
food." But Atlas remembered that an ancient prophecy had warned
him that a son of Jove should one day rob him of his golden
apples. So he answered, "Begone! or neither your false claims of
glory nor parentage shall protect you;" and he attempted to thrust
him out. Perseus, finding the giant too strong for him, said,
"Since you value my friendship so little, deign to accept a
present;" and turning his face away, he held up the Gorgon's head.
Atlas, with all his bulk, was changed into stone. His beard and
hair became forests, his arms and shoulders cliffs, his head a
summit, and his bones rocks. Each part increased in bulk till he
became a mountain, and (such was the pleasure of the gods) heaven
with all its stars rests upon his shoulders.
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