A collection of maps, often with additional geopolitical or social statistics, usually bound into book form. The name 'Atlas' derives from the custom of adorning the cover or title page of such collections with a picture of the
Atlas of
Greek mythology holding the
Earth on his shoulders. This usage of the term dates from Gerardus Mercator
?'s
Atlas Sive Cosmographicae, (Atlas, or Description of the Universe) of
1585-
1595. The earliest atlas was
Ptolemy's
Geography? of c.
150 AD.
See also:
![[Home]](wikipedia.png)