Atlas was a Titan, the son of Iapetus and Asia. He was well-known to everyone because his task was no less than to support the sky and the heavens over the earth. According to the myth at some point in Titanomachy Atlas sided with the Titans against the Olympians while his other brothers Prometheus and Epimetheus betrayed the Titans and made an alliance with the Olympians in fear of losing.
When the Titans were lastly defeated, most of them were imprisoned in Tartarus, but Zeus had a different punishment in store for Atlas. His punishment was to hold the sky over the earth forever preventing them from ever contacting. He hence became known as the “enduring Atlas” embodiment of the celestial axis around which the heavens revolve.
Atlas once had a chance to break away from his burden when Hercules offered to hold up the sky in his stead while he left to fetch him some golden apples from the garden of the Hesperides. Heracles suspected Atlas would not be willing to return to his duty that easily and decided to trick him. He asked him to carry the sky again for just a while in order to rearrange his cloak as padding on his shoulders. When Atlas set down the apples and carried the heavens upon his shoulders again, Heracles took the apples and ran away.
The worship of Apollo is the most widely diffused. His birth was adventurous as his mother, Leto, was chased by the serpent Python (Hera's intrigue); he grew up miraculously fast (in seven months he assumed the appearance of a grown man)
Ares is the son of Zeus and Hera and one of the Twelve Olympian Gods. His birthplace and true home was placed far away, among the barbarous and hostile Thracians.
Artemis is special among the other goddesses of Olympus. She was the daughter of Zeus and Leto and twin sister to Apollo.
Athena was the daughter of Zeus and Metis, the Titan and goddess of cunningness and wisdom. According to the myth Zeus received a prophecy that one of his off springs would bring the end to his reign.
Demeter was the daughter of Chronus and Rhea. She was the goddess of agriculture and taught men how to seed and harvest the fields.
Zagori is an area of great natural beauty and unique architecture in the Pindus Mountains in Epirus in Northwestern Greece. The area is of about 1.000 square kilometers and contains 46 villages. Zagoria villages is called by Greeks “Zagorochoria” meaning the villages behind the mountain.
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In 1989, Professor of Byzantine Studies, Helen Ahrweiler is appointed Chairman of the Cultural Centre Pompidou in Paris