Favorite Metamorphose: Galatea & Acis

Galatea and Acis
pg. 460

This is the story of a bit perverse love triangle between three “people.” A goddess named Galatea falls in love with a young man named Acis. However, the love of those two is interrupted by the love of Polymethus (the Cyclops) for Galatea. The problem is with Galatea, who loves Acis in a a traditional sense, but also has just as powerful feelings of hate for the Cyclops. Even though she hated him, she still was possessed by him (mentally). While Galatea and Acis run off into the woods and hide under the shelter of a rock to fondle one another, Polymethus decides to climb to a tall peak and to sing a love song to his reluctant Galatea. All the world below him can hear his bellowing voice and his 100 reed flute, and that includes the fornicating Galatea and Acis. The Cyclops surprisingly sings not only of his immense love for the goddess, but also of his dislike of her. He promises her that she will regret not loving him and tells her that if he ever sees Acis he will rip him apart to demonstrate his strength in muscle and in heart. Just as Fates would have it, after the Cyclops finishes his song and goes blundering through the wilderness, he discovers the nest of the two lovers. Galatea dives into the sea, and Acis turns to run. His last words are a prayer to the gods to make him cross over from man to water. The Cyclops in a fit of rage lifts a chunk of rock from the earth and heaves it at Acis. He barely caught Acis but the weight of even that little bit was enough to bury Acis and diminish him to a pool of crimson blood. However that blood didn’t stay crimson for long and soon the blood turned to water. The rock burst in half and out came a reed plant. Acis then appeared out of the river, his top half much like his former self only much larger and his legs were transformed into waves. On his forehead rested two newly formed horns. He had become a river-god and the river retained his former name.

I like this story because it seems to be about the conflict of beauty v. sublime. In Galatea, the beautiful is represented by the young man Acis and of course the fearful Cyclops plays the sublime. This story seems to take the “beautiful v. sublime” a little too literal as the purposed sublime character destroys the beautiful character. If we closer at the Cyclops song though we see him address his ugliness and say that he has more to offer than that. He defends his looks by comparing them to both average men and to the Gods, “the sun has but one eye and he is a God.” I read this story as proof that even the most horrible people are capable of love, and that ugly/horrible people have feelings too.