The term Pygmalion has a direct relationship with classical mythology and, especially, with the ability of myths to provide suggestive ideas. The mythical story of Pygmalion has become a universal cultural reference that is present in literature, cinema or psychology.
The origin of the myth
According to Greek mythology Pygmalion was a king of the island of Cyprus and one of his hobbies was sculpture. Despite his power, the king was lonely and sad and this led him to sculpt a statue of a perfect woman. As he was sculpting the marble he was amazed by her result and when he finished his work he fell deeply in love with her and named her Galatea. The sculptor king had created the ideal woman but he could not truly love her.
Impossible love led Pygmalion to ask the gods for help. The goddess Aphrodite was touched by the artist’s frustration and made the marble of the statue transform into a flesh and blood woman. The sculptor achieved the dream of him and the union of humanized Galatea and Pygmalion the island of Papos was born.
The legend of the sculptor in love with a statue was picked up by the Roman poet Ovid, who in his work “The Metamorphoses” recovered the story of Pygmalion.
What does it mean to be a Pygmalion?
If a person has a weak point, they speak of their Achilles heel. If a man is very close to his mother, it is likely that he has an Oedipus complex. And when affirming that a man is a Pygmalion, what is meant? It is someone, normally a cultured man, who educates a woman of humble origin and little cultivated until transforming her into a refined person.
Whoever acts in this way is known as a Pygmalion and his aspiration is to emulate the sculptor of mythology, that is, to create a model of a woman according to his ideal of perfection. In this sense, there are many stories that have been recreated in fiction, among which we can highlight the 1964 film “My fair Lady”, in which the female character (a humble and uneducated flower girl represented by the actress Audrey Hepburn ) is transformed into a high society lady with exquisite manners thanks to the teachings of her Pygmalion.
In the field of psychology
In psychology there is the so-called “Pygmalion effect”. This effect occurs when a person, normally an educator, is capable of generating greater self-esteem in another individual.
In the field of sexuality
Agalmatophilia is a paraphilia that is inspired by the mythical tale of Pygmalion. Thus, people who fall in love or feel sexual attraction to statues or inflatable dolls suffer from agalmatophilia, a sexual inclination based on the fantasy of a perfect being.
Photo: Fotolia-mahout
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