The Farnese Atlas at The Museo Archeologico Nazionale, Naples

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The Farnese Atlas is a 2nd-century Roman marble replica of a Hellenistic sculpture depicting Atlas kneeling with celestial spheres, not a globe, weighing heavily on his shoulders. It is the oldest existing statue of the Titan from Greek mythology, who is represented in earlier vase-painting, and more importantly, the oldest known representation of the celestial sphere. The sculpture resides at the National Archaeological Museum of Naples, Italy. It stands seven feet tall, and the globe measures 65 cm in diameter. The name Farnese Atlas reflects its acquisition by Cardinal Alessandro Farnese in the early 16th century, and its subsequent exhibition in the Villa Farnese. Atlas labors under the weight because he was sentenced by Zeus to hold up the sky. The globe shows a depiction of the night sky as seen from outside the outermost celestial sphere, with low reliefs depicting 41 (some sources say 42) of the 48 classical Greek constellations distinguished by Ptolemy, including Aries the ram, Cygnus the swan and Hercules the hero. The Farnese Atlas is the oldest surviving pictorial record of Western constellations. It dates to Roman times, around AD 150, but has long been presumed to represent constellations mapped in earlier Greek work. A common misconception today is that Atlas was forced to hold the Earth on his shoulders, but Classical art shows Atlas holding celestial spheres, not a globe; the solidity of the marble globe borne by the renowned Farnese Atlas may have aided this conflation, reinforced in the 16th century by the developing usage of atlas to describe a corpus of terrestrial maps. This object is part of "Scan The World." Scan the World is a non-profit initiative introduced by MyMiniFactory, through which we are creating a digital archive of fully 3D printable sculptures, artworks, and landmarks from across the globe for the public to access for free. Scan the World is an open-source community effort; if you have interesting items around you and would like to contribute, email stw@myminifactory.com to learn how you can help.