Women, Weird and Wonderful: Galathea, who Friendzoned a Cyclops

Galathea was one of the fifty Nereids (sea-nymphs), and by all accounts, the prettiest. When the time came to marry, she had lots of suitors to choose from. The cyclops Polyphemos thought he had the best chances. He was of divine descent, as son of Poseidon, he was tall (some 30 feet), and he had a steady income, as assistent of the divine smith Hephaistos. To his disgust, he heard the answer that nobody wants: “I like you, Polyphemos, but let’s just be friends.” He didn’t want to be friends, not with her, and certainly not with the loser she chose instead, the faun Acis. So, he took out the competition by dropping a huge boulder on him. Can you believe it? Galathea still didn’t want him, and now she didn’t even want to be friends anymore. Instead, she revived her lover as a river god. (Today the river Aci on Mount Etna.) To avoid more havock, Poseidon moved his son to a desert island, to moan and herd sheep. Centuries later, he was still doing just that, when Odysseus arrived at his shores, on his way back after the Trojan war. But that’s a different story.

Polyphemus, fresco (Pompeï), Museo Nazionale Archeologico, Napoli, Italy

Polyphemus spies on Galatea, Gustave Moreau, Musée d'Orsay, Paris, France