Pygmalion was a sculptor and a woman-hater. These were the only things he was really good at. Other than that, his home was a mess and he probably stank. In defiance of all women, he said he could create the perfect woman out of stone.

This attitude naturally pissed off Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love. When the statue was finished, and Pygmalion was asleep, she sent Eros (Cupid) to shoot an arrow into his heart and make him fall in love with the statue.

So it came to pass that Pygmalion woke up and became obsessed with his own creation. He named the statue Galatea. He would kiss the statues lips, they would be cold. He would put his arms around its waist, and still the stone would not yield.

The man was driven insane by his own fascination with the statue.

Finally, Aphrodite took pity on the poor sculptor (after Pygmalion offered her all sorts of goodies at her temple) and one day when Pygmalion kissed the statue, he felt the heat of life. Warm arms began to encircle his waist, and a blush began to form on the statue's face.

Now, some people say that Galatea herself was a proud maiden who had spurned Eros, Aphrodite's son, and was thus punished by being turned into a statue. Some people say that at night, while Pygmalion slept, she would come alive and weep over his enchanted, sleeping form. They say that when Pygmalion loved her, she came alive inside. Her heart of stone began to beat and throb with a passion unknown. And then Aphrodite only had to make her flesh come alive.

So maybe the lovers brought each other to life, giving meaning to an existence that was empty before....