Pygmalion
In Greek mythology, Pygmalion was a legendary Phoenician figure of Cyprus. He’s most familiar from Ovid’s narrative poem Metamorphoses, in which Pygmalion was a sculptor who fell in love with a statue he’d carved. And in a VERY adult & VERY spicy way! You’ll see!
In book 10 of Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Pygmalion was a Cypriot sculptor who carved a woman out of ivory alabaster. Post-classical sources name the statue Galatea. According to Ovid, when Pygmalion saw the Propoetides of Cyrus practicing prostitution, he began “detesting the faults beyond measure which nature has given to woman.”
He determined to remain celibate & to occupy his time with sculpting. He made a sculpture of a woman that he found so perfect he fell in love with it. Pygmalion kissed & fondled the sculpture, brought it various gifts, & created a luxurious bed for it.
In time, Aphrodite’s festival day came & Pygmalion made offerings at the altar of Aphrodite. There, too afraid to admit his desire, he quickly wished for a bride who would be “the living likeness of my ivory girl.” When he returned home, he kissed his ivory statue, & found that its lips felt warm.
He kissed it again, & found that the ivory had lost its hardness. Aphrodite had granted Pygmalion’s wish. Pygmalion married the ivory sculpture, which came to life under Aphrodite’s blessing. In Ovid’s narrative, they had a daughter, Paphos, from whom is derived the name of the city.
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