Pygmalion and His Created Lover Galatea

There have been a lot of mythological stories since the beginning of life, and the level of Pygmalion is one of them. His story is quite interesting, so before diving into this interesting myth, let’s look at some personal information about him. But first, we should be aware that, like every myth, this myth also has other versions, and we will focus on one version. He was a famous sculptor born in Cyprus. There are some rumors that he had daughters who became prostitutes by Aphrodite, and that is why he hated women. Still, another rumor is that he had hatred for women because of some prostitutes who lived near him, not his daughters, and that made him someone who has no interest in women. Moreover, he had only hatred and disgust for women. As l mentioned before, these are all rumors, and we cannot be so sure about them, but it is enjoyable to read them.

As it is mentioned before, he hated women, but after some time, Pygmalion was alone, and he felt lonely... Because he thought that all women had flaws, he wanted to create one flawless woman for himself. Since he was a great sculptor, he wanted to make an ideal woman by sculpting. He started making the perfect statue with the material ivory, and after some time, he managed to finish the statue. When he finished what he had created, he fell in love with the statue. He was not aware that he could make the statue that beautiful and actually, beyond this beauty, an ideal woman for himself.

Let’s look at more to the affection that Pygmalion had for Galatea. Love is a great feeling, and to love someone sounds quite sweet, but what if someone falls in love with a statue? What can he expect from the statue? Pygmalion was so in love, and he wanted this inanimate creature to be alive. So he prayed to the Goddess of love and beauty, who is Aphrodite. He wanted her to make his statue alive. One day, these words reached Aphrodite from Pygmalion:

“If it is true

O Gods that you can give all things, l pray

to have as my wife

One life my ivory ( Statue).”

After hearing these words, Aphrodite agreed to make the statue alive, and she gave life to the lifeless creature. When Pygmalion came to his house, he went directly to his lover and kissed her. He usually did this, but this time, he felt the warmth of her lips by kissing her. The more kisses he gave, the more the statue became alive, and in the end, she turned into a real, alive woman. After this, they got married under Aphrodite's permission and they lived happily.

What a catchy and strange story that they have! Am l right? We can understand from this myth that love provides people to make everything for the sake of itself. It is hard to believe that a statue is loved by someone and this love turned a lifeless thing into an alive being but even just reading this story about love makes our hearts warm.

Kaynakça

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Oedipus-Greek-mythology

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMnKyDVm8fY&ab_channel=SeeUinHistory%2FMythology