Perseus rushes further and further from the island of the Gorgons. Like a cloud driven by a stormy wind, it rushes across the sky. Finally he reached the country where the son of the titan Iapetus, the brother of Prometheus, the giant Atlas, reigned. Thousands of herds of fine-fleeced sheep, cows and steep-horned bulls grazed in the fields of the Atlas. Luxurious gardens grew in his domain, and among the gardens stood a tree with golden branches and foliage, and the apples that grew on this tree were also golden. Atlas treasured this tree like the apple of his eye; it was his greatest treasure. The goddess Themis predicted to him that the day would come when the son of Zeus would come to him and steal the golden apples from him. Atlas was afraid of this. He surrounded the garden in which the golden tree grew with a high wall, and at the entrance he placed a flame-breathing dragon as guard. Atlas did not allow strangers into his domain - he was afraid that the son of Zeus would appear among them. It was to him that Perseus flew in his winged sandals and addressed Atlas with these friendly words:
- Oh, Atlas, welcome me as a guest in your home. I am the son of Zeus, Perseus, who killed the gorgon Medusa. Let me rest with you from my great feat.
When Atlas heard that Perseus was the son of Zeus, he immediately remembered the prediction of the goddess Themis and therefore rudely answered Perseus:
- Get out of here! Your lies about the great feat and the fact that you are the son of the Thunderer will not help you.
Atlas wants to kick the hero out the door. Perseus, seeing that he cannot fight the mighty giant, hurries to leave the house. Anger rages in the heart of Perseus; Atlas angered him by refusing him hospitality and even calling him a liar.
In anger, Perseus says to the giant:
- Okay, Atlas, you are driving me away! Well, at least accept a gift from me!
With these words, Perseus quickly took out the head of Medusa and, turning away, showed it to Atlas. The giant immediately turned to the mountain. His beard and hair turned into dense leafy forests, his arms and shoulders into high rocks, his head into the top of a mountain that went into the sky. Since then, Mount Atlas has supported the entire firmament, with all its constellations.
Perseus, when the morning star rose into the sky, rushed further.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru