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When Hercules acting in one of his labors had to bring to Evristheus, king of Mycenae, the gold apples of Hesperides, he met in the far east Atlas and accepted to hold the dome for a while until the giant gets him the apples. Getting back Atlas refused to take the dome back and proposed to take the apples to Evristheus himself. Hercules pretended he agreed but asked him to take the dome back for a while to make a "cushion" for his head. Atlas fell into the trap and Hercules took the apples and left. So Atlas kept on his duty. Having the apples the hero returned to Mycenae and gave them to Evristheus. But he gave them to him as a present. After that Hercules gave them to "goddess" Athena who returned them to the garden of Hesperides "because it was not allowed to be anywhere else". Hesiod talks about all of the above. He also says in Theogony that Hercules traveled to Hesperides inside a sailing bronze earthenware jar. Nireus was his guide, son of Pontus or Poseidon who took Hercules from the Mediterranean passed through Cronus's Columns (this was the name of Gibraltar, later called Hercules's columns), sailed the Atlantic and got to the Hesperides islands. Others said that Hercules managed to kill the thieves who had grabbed Atlas's daughters, Hesperides, and bring them safe and sound back to their father, who out of gratitude taught Hercules the secrets of the sky and astronomy. In the far west he went to find Atlas and another great hero, Perseus son of Danae (daughter of Acrisius and Eurydice) and Zeus. But Atlas did not welcome him and tried to kill him. Then Perseus showed him the head of Medusa (or gorgo) and froze him. So Atlas became a big mountain in Africa or somewhere further named Atlas.

Another "demigod" related to the Atlantians was Hercules. Plutarchus from the information he got concluded that he was a historic person although there were many myths about him. So Hercules traveled to Atlantis with "a sailing bronze earthen jar". Nireus, who was the son of Pontus and was closely related to Poseidon, led him. Homer says about Nireus that :"he ruled the Mediterranean under the orders of Poseidon" (Iliad l.141). Nireus and Oceanid Doris gave birth to the 77 Niriades (daughters (nymphs) of the sea that is they were thought as sea "goddesses"). Here myth reveals in our opinion Nireus's identity, that he was the captain who under the orders of Poseidon ruled a whole fleet of 77 ships. So Nireus, the captain of the Atlantians, led Hercules to Atlas by boat. From the narration of the meeting between Atlas and Hercules it is clear that Atlas made Hercules an ally, who helped him for a while to rule Atlantis ("he hold for a while the dome, Atlas's burden"). An agreement is possible to have happened or sharing of the power between The Greeks and Atlantians with the Hercules's Columns as border that is the two rocks in the Gibraltar passage. Maybe we can explain this way the change of its name from "Cronus's Columns" to "Hercules's Columns". The fact that Hercules had traveled in the Atlantic Ocean is proved by the later history of the Phoenician who when they traveled to Erythia island in the Atlantic Ocean found a temple devoted to Hercules. So how could Hercules get with an army to the Erythia Island in the Atlantic Ocean where later (in another era) the Phoenicians found his temple?

copyright © Theodoros Paschos, Greece, August 2000