Atlas Sleeve

This gorgeous Atlas was created by Holly Ellis out of San Francisco, CA and comes from TattooNow.com. In the failed revolt of the Titans against the Olympians Zeus determined that Atlas would forever bear the heavens on his shoulders as punishment. Later, along came Hercules who, in the course of his Twelve Labors, needed the apples of the Hesperides. Now, the Hesperides are four nymphs, and daughters of Atlas, who live in a magical garden guarded by a dragon. Now, said apples aren't just any old apples. They were a wedding gift from Gaia upon the marriage of Zeus and Hera. And that dragon? Oh, it just has a hundred heads, that's all. Hercules tricked Atlas into getting the apples by saying that he would hold the heavens in exchange. Then Hercules tricked Atlas again by saying that if Atlas would just take back the heavens for a moment then Hercules could place a strip of cloth over his shoulders to ease the burden. And poor, dumb, long-suffering Atlas fell for it and took the heavens back at which point Hercules trundled off. I always wondered what Atlas would have said after he realized his mistake. Probably something greatly undignified and hilarious.