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There are two very different, but very plausible stories about Galatea. Both of them include the goddess, Aphrodite (mentioned in the refference URLs below), but that's where their simularities end.
| Mythology #1 |
In this version, Galatea is a goddess and is in love with a (half?) Naiad named Acis. However, although they loved each other deeply, a Cyclops by the name of Polyphemus loved Galatea. He was so deeply in love with the goddess that he no longer cared about killing, he cleaned himself up, shaved and completey forgot his flocks & well-stored caverns.
One day, while Galatea and Acis were hiding under an outcroping rock, they heard the Cyclops play a song he composed telling of extravagant praises of Galatea's beauty, mingled with passionate reproaches of her coldness and cruelty on his pipes. After the song was done, the Cyclops wandered off and Galatea & Acis didn't think of him any more.
Suddenly Polyphemus spotted where they were and roared in anger. Taking matters into his own hands, he picked up a massive boulder and threw it at them. In terror, Galatea had hid herself within the safe confines of the ocean. Acis, unfortunately, got side swiped with the boulder. Shortly there after, Galatea transformed Acis into a river.
| Mythology #2 |
After deciding that he saw so much to blame in women, Pygmalion had had enough of women and anything to do with them. He was a sculpter by trade and decided to carve the perfect woman out of ivory. However, he made it a little too perfect in the fact that it appeared to be real and the only thing keeping the ivory statue from moving was modesty.
It didn't take long for Pygmalion to fall in love with the statue. Often times he would have to touch it to make sure that it was indeed made from ivory instead of an actual woman. Eventualy, his love grew to the point where he was giving the statue presents that any maiden would have loved to receive.
Some time later, during the festival of Aphrodite, Pygmalion prayed to the goddess for a wife that was like his beloved ivory statue. Aphrodite, who was at the festival, heard him and by the time that he had went home, she turned the statue into an actual live woman.
| Resources |
Acis & Galatea - Online-Mythology.com
Galatea - FactMonster.com
Pygmalion - FactMonster.com
Pygmalion and Galatea in Greek Mythology - Loggia.com