In Greek mythology, Pygmalion was a legendary figure of Cyprus. He is most familiar from Ovid's narrative poem See more

In book 10 of Ovid's Metamorphoses, Pygmalion was a Cypriot sculptor who carved a woman out of ivory alabaster. Post-classical sources name her Galatea.
According to Ovid, when Pygmalion saw the … See more

The story of the breath of life in a statue has parallels in the examples of Daedalus, who used quicksilver to install a voice in his statues or to make them move; of Hephaestus, who created automata for his workshop; of … See more

The basic Pygmalion story has been widely transmitted and represented in the arts through the centuries. At an unknown date, later authors give as the name of the statue that of the sea-nymph Galatea or Galathea. Goethe calls … See more

• Agalmatophilia
• Golem
• Hidari Jingorō
• Narcissus
• Pinocchio… See more

• Burnham, Jack. Beyond Modern Sculpture (1982). Allan Lane. A history of 'living statues' and the fascination with automata—see the introductory chapter: "Sculpture and Automata".
• Buschor, Ernst. Vom Sinn d… See more

• English translation of Ovid's poem by Sir Samuel Garth, John Dryden, et al.
• English translation of Ovid's poem Archived 2010-01-16 at the Wayback Machine
• Latin original, lines 243–297, at The Latin Library.com… See more