The Burden of Atlas

When I first saw this kind of pillar statue in Amsterdam, I found it an interesting idea to personify a pillar as a man carrying a heavy building on his shoulders. After googling the allusion of this kind of architecture, I learned that this is called an “atlas.”

Originating from Atlas — the Titan who was condemned to hold up the sky on his shoulders for eternity — an atlas is a support sculpted in the form of a man, which may take the place of a column, a pier or a pilaster, and can often be seen in European architectural sculpture. In fact, apart from atlases, there are also caryatids, sculpted female figures serving as architectural supports.

Despite the mythological allusion, I think an atlas is very much like a father in a family who carries the whole family on his shoulders, standing right in front of the door and sheltering everyone from the wind and rain. I wonder if the entablature is also a “sweet burden” to an atlas as a family is to a father.