Ovid, selection from Apollo and Hyacinthus and Pygmalion - Book Report/Review Example

Pygmalion being a sculpture loved no women in the world except, “miracle of ivory in a statue, so charming that it made him fall in love”. The statue was fair as snow and was much more beautiful than any girl in the whole world. Pygmalion seemed to have fallen in love with his own creation and he described the statue, “Her face was life itself; she was a darling- And yet too modest to permit advances” where he feels that women should not make themselves available for prostitution and should preserve their virginity which he find in his creation and he found the face of his creation to be most charming and lively among all women of the world.

Pygmalion was a great artist of Cyprus, “Which showed his art had artful touches in it, the kind of art that swept him off his feet” and he was so fond of his creation that every day he used to touch the statue, converse with her and consider her as his bride assuming that the ivory idol was alive, as was stated in, “He stroked her arms, her face, her sides, and her shoulder. Was she alive or not? He could not tell. He kissed her; did her lips respond to this?” Pygmalion considered her to be a living being and bought so many gifts for her, as was mentioned in the paragraph, “He whispered at her-look, he brought her toys, Small gifts that girls delight to wear, to gaze at, Pet birds and shells and semi-precious stones, White lilies, flowers of a thousand colors, And amber tears wept by Heliades.

He dressed her like a queen, rings on her fingers, or diamonds and gold or glancing rubies; A shining collar at her throat, pearls at her ears, And golden chains encircling her small breasts.” Pygmalion called the idol her wife and enjoyed watching her sleep and dream. “Meanwhile the Feast of Venus had arrived and all of Cyprus joined in celebration” that is in the mean time the festival of Venus settled in Cyprus and all the people of Cyprus took part in it. “Golden-horned cattle lay at smoke-wreathed altars, Blood pouring from white throats in sacrifice in honor of a blessed holiday” which means that the inhabitants of Cyprus sacrificed lots of cattle in order to please the Goddess of Love and “Pygmalion after paying his devotions, began a prayer, then shyness overcame him; He whispered, 'May the very Gods in Heaven Give me a wife' Thus Pygmalion worshipped Venus and asked for a wife for himself but he had different needs, he asked for the statue created by him to be his wife as we can see in, “he could not say outright, 'Give me the girl I made.

' He stammered, then went on: 'But someone like….’ He cleared his throat, and then said, 'Give me a lady who is as lovely as my work of art.' “And after returning back to his home Pygmalion touched the ivory statue once again and felt, “as though ivory had turned to wax and wax to life,”. Pygmalion realized that wish had been granted by Venus and “He kissed the girl until she woke beneath him”. She felt shy and Venus herself arrived to bless the couple at the occasion of their union.

After a few months that is “Less than a year went by” the couple was blessed with a baby girl called Paphos after and later on a harbor was named after Paphos. Exercise #2: Compose a 300-word summary of “Pygmalion” The story states that Pygmalion who used to be a Cypriot sculptor had a negative perception about the girls of Cyprus and the world as a