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PIGMALION. Pygmalion, king of Cyprus, was also a sculptor. Disgusted with the priestesses of Venus, who practiced sacred prostitution, he carved for himself an ivory statue, more beautiful than any real woman. At a festival honoring the goddess, he prayed for a wife as beautiful as the creature he had left at home. Pitying him, Venus breathed life into the statue, and when Pygmalion returned home, his new wife welcomed him. He became the father of Cinyras and grandfather of Myrrha and Adonis (Met X.243-297; OM X.929-1079; RR 20817-21198).

Nature boasts that not even Pigmalion could imitate her when she created Virginia, PhysT 14. [Adoon: Mirra: Virginia]

Pigmalion, a spelling variant of Pygmalion, appears initially, PhysT 14.

Ovid, Met, ed. and trans. F.J. Miller, II: 80-85; OM, ed. C. de Boer, IV, deel 37: 33-37; RR, ed. E. Langlois, V: 59-73; RR, trans. C. Dahlberg, 340-346.
From CHAUCER NAME DICTIONARY
Copyright © 1988, 1996 Jacqueline de Weever
Published by Garland Publishing, Inc., New York and London.
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