The seven Atlantic sisters.
Milton.
||At*lan"ti*des (&?;), n. pl. [L. See Atlantes.] The Pleiades or seven stars, fabled to have been the daughters of Atlas.
At"las (&?;), n.; pl. Atlases (&?;). [L. Atlas, -antis, Gr. &?;, &?;, one of the older family of gods, who bears up the pillars of heaven; also Mt. Atlas, in W. Africa, regarded as the pillar of heaven. It is from the root of &?; to bear. See Tolerate.] 1. One who sustains a great burden.
2. (Anat.) The first vertebra of the neck, articulating immediately with the skull, thus sustaining the globe of the head, whence the name.
3. A collection of maps in a volume; -- supposed to be so called from a picture of Atlas supporting the world, prefixed to some collections. This name is said to have been first used by Mercator, the celebrated geographer, in the 16th century.