Atlas

In the short story The Apples of the Hesperides, Atlas is the name or pen-name of a tipster who worked for the Dublin Sun. His specialty was giving horse racing tips probably as a columnist for the newspaper.

Poirot first met Atlas in the saloon bar of Jimmy Donovan's hotel in Inishgowlen. At the time, Poirot had been engaged in trying to recover a golden goblet belonging to Emery Power, a task which he had likened to getting the Apples of the Hesperides in the original Twelve Labours of Heracles. The mythical Atlas was also involved in that labour and so Poirot considered his encounter with Atlas to be an omen, and also an inspiration for what he had to do.

This Atlas helped Poirot recover the goblet, much like the original Atlas helped Heracles.