[pig-mey-lee-uh
n, -meyl-yuhn] 
| 1. | Classical Mythology. a sculptor and king of Cyprus who carved an ivory statue of a maiden and fell in love with it. It was brought to life, in response to his prayer, by Aphrodite. |
| 2. | (italics) a comedy (1912) by George Bernard Shaw. |
| Pyg·ma·lion (pĭg-māl'yən, -mā'lē-ən) n. Greek Mythology A king of Cyprus who carved and then fell in love with a statue of a woman, which Aphrodite brought to life as Galatea. |
In classical mythology, a sculptor who at first hated women but then fell in love with a statue he made of a woman. He prayed to Venus that she would find him a woman like the statue. Instead, Venus made the statue come to life.
Note: The play Pygmalion, by George Bernard Shaw, adapts this theme: a professor trains a girl from the gutter to speak and behave like a lady, and then he and his new creation become attached to each other. This play became the basis for the musical comedy My Fair Lady.
A play by George Bernard Shaw, about a professor, Henry Higgins, who trains a poor, uneducated girl, Eliza Doolittle, to act and speak like a lady. Shaw based his story on a tale from Greek mythology about a sculptor who carves a statue of a woman and falls in love with it (see under “Mythology and Folklore”).
