The quest to regain their former glory must have been irresistible. The possibility and lure of power called out to the Titans. Most of all to Atlas, for he would eventually become leader of the rebellion.

Sadly, he was no match for Zeus. He and his Titan rebellion were defeated.

Zeus was often most clever and quite diabolical when handing out punishment. As leader of the rebellion, Atlas would receive a particularly harsh sentence – to hold up the sky! Some say the sky was placed directly on his shoulders, but in other accounts it was placed on two pillars he would hold in his hands.

But the story would not end here. Few people knew the location of Atlas, but a certain demigod who happened to be a son of Zeus happened to pass by Atlas. Perseus would eventually use the head of Medusa to turn Atlas into stone. Some say it was because Atlas refused to grant him hospitality, which would have been difficult because his hands were full.

Others say it was an act of mercy to alleviate the suffering of Atlas and end his cruel punishment. The Atlas Mountains are the remains of this once proud rebel.

This raku vase’s name was chosen by Mandy Lewis-Houston during our July 2019 Edition of ‘Name that Vase’, who explains it as follows:

I would call it “Phoenix Reborn” for several reasons. First is a little on the nose since it’s Raku and forged in flame. The second is because, if I read your blog properly, this is the first work you have finished since your sad loss. Lastly because July has been stupid hot for almost everyone everywhere so this could be a lovely harbinger of cooler times since it’s out of the flames and hopefully so are we all.

Thank you so much Mandy for your touching suggestion. I am really drawn to this name and feel like she has captured the essence of this piece on many levels. You can check out Mandy’s artistic works on her website here.

You may read more about my recent experiences that caused me to choose this particular name here – “Working Through Grief.”.