EncyclopediaGalatea
Galatea (gălutē'u) [key], in Greek mythology. 1. Sea nymph, daughter of Nereus and Doris. She was loved by the brutish Polyphemus, a Cyclops who wooed her with love songs; but Galatea loved Acis, the handsome son of a river nymph. When Polyphemus discovered them together, he crushed the youth under a huge boulder. In response to his pitiful cries, Galatea turned Acis into a river. 2. See Pygmalion 1.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
