What would happen if Atlas dropped the sky?

In Greek mythology, Atlas was condemned by Zeus to hold up the sky or heavens on his shoulders as punishment for fighting with the Titans against the Olympians, so if Atlas dropped the sky, the mythological consequence would be cosmic catastrophe. According to ancient Greek cosmology, the sky was seen as a solid dome or vault that needed support, and Atlas stood at the western edge of the world holding it up to prevent it from collapsing onto the Earth. If he dropped it, the sky would fall onto the Earth, crushing all life, merging heaven and earth, and ending the world as the Greeks understood it, similar to a universal collapse. In Hesiod's Theogony, Atlas's task is eternal, so dropping it would violate Zeus's punishment and bring wrath of the gods. Figuratively, if Atlas dropped the sky, it would symbolize total failure of endurance, responsibility, and strength, leading to chaos and destruction. In modern interpretations, writers have used the image of Atlas shrugging or dropping the sky to symbolize someone abandoning their burdens, as in Ayn Rand's novel Atlas Shrugged, where if Atlas shrugs, the world of industry and responsibility collapses. Scientifically, the sky is not a solid object, it is atmosphere and space, so it cannot be dropped, but in mythological terms, dropping the sky would mean the end of cosmic order, darkness, and destruction of all life under the fallen heavens, which is why Atlas must endure forever.