.......Though the statue is cold and lifeless, he embraces it and provides it gifts: rare shells, pearls, and other gems; parrots, singing birds in silver cages, flowers, robes, earrings, a necklace, and rings. He also makes a splendid bed for himself and the statue, outfitting it with coverings in the royal color, purple. Then he holds a wedding that unites him with the ivory beauty. Afterward, he places the statue on the bed, its head on a soft pillow, so that he may lie next to it.

Characters
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Pygmalion: Young sculptor who despises women but becomes infatuated with an exquisite statue of his creation.
The Statue: Figure of a beautiful young woman sculpted in ivory by Pygmalion. After Pygmalion passionately desires it, Venus intervenes on his behalf and animates the statue. Ovid does not give a name to the new human being, but other accounts of the Pygmalion myth call her Galatea.
Venus: Roman name for the goddess of love. In Greek mythology, her name is Aphrodite.
Paphos: Son of Pygmalion and the "humanized" statue.

Type of Work
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The story is part of the tenth book of Metamorphoses, a long narrative poem by Ovid about mythological, legendary, and historical characters and circumstances that undergo a transformation. The tale of Pygmalion is one of the most famous in the fifteen books that make up Metamorphoses.

Pronunciations

Pronunciations of key words in this study guide are as follows: Ovid (Ah vid), Pygmalion (pig MAIL yun), Paphos (PAH foss or PAY foss), Aphrodite (AF roh DYE te).
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What readers remember most about this story is that a statue changes into a human being. But they generally forget that a profound change takes place in Pygmalion; it alters his attitude about women—or at least a particular woman. (It is possible, however, to argue that Pygmalion's attitude toward women in general remains the same: They are loathsome because they do not measure up to his concept of the ideal woman, a concept that he created in stone and that Venus incarnated.)

Love

Pygmalion becomes enamored of the statue, as if it were the most beautiful flesh-and-blood woman in the world. One may loosely call his obsession with the statue love. However, since the statue has no personality, it is impossible to term his passion for it true love. But after Venus transforms the statue into a human, Pygmalion may well have fallen in love with his creation.

Benevolence

Venus, taking pity on Pygmalion, grants his wish and makes the statue human.

Climax
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The climax occurs when the statue becomes human after Pygmalion kisses it.
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.......When translating Latin classics into English, writers generally interpret the Latin words rather than presenting a verbatim rendering of them. One reason for this approach is that Latin inflection and word order differ substantially from English inflection and word order.
Another reason is that there is no Latin equivalent of the English definite article (a, an, or the). Consider the following Latin phrase:
oculus dexter. Oculus means eye, and dexter means right. However, the phrase in English does not mean eye right; rather, it means the right eye. As you can see, Latin places the adjective after the noun, not before it, and it does not use an article before the noun. In addition, a verb in a Latin sentence or phrase usually has a different position than a verb in an English phrase or sentence. Consider the following Latin sentence: Poeta puellam amat. A word-for-word literal translation renders it as Poet girl loves. However, its correct translation is The poet loves the girl.
.......There are many other differences—too numerous to discuss here—between Latin and English.
.......As a result of these differences, translators of Latin literary works try to capture the spirit of them rather than presenting a literal rendering of them. In addition, they may change the meter of a verse work and add rhyme to it. For example, the following English translation of "Pygmalion" uses pentameter with iambic feet rather than hexameter with dactylic or spondaic feet. It also contains end rhyme.
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1. If Pygmalion hates women, why does he sculpt the figure of one?
2. Do you believe Pygmalion modeled his statue after an existing woman? Or did he create it from an ideal image in his mind?
3. In ancient times, why did people make animal sacrifices to gods?
4. Each story in Ovid's Metamorphoses reports a transformation. In "Pygmalion," the statue is transformed into a human being. But what ....transformation takes place in Pygmalion's outlook?
5. Write an essay informing the reader about misogyny (hatred of women) or avoidance of women as a major motif in literary works. ....Among the works you may wish to research are Shakespeare's Love's Labours Lost, Shakespeare's Venus and Adonis, and ....Turgenev's Father's and Sons.