Acis and Galatea are characters from Greek mythology later associated together in Ovid's Metamorphoses. The episode tells of the love between the mortal Acis and the Nereid (sea-nymph) Galatea; when the jealous Cyclops Polyphemus kills Acis, Galatea transforms her lover into an immortal river spirit. The episode was made the subject of poems, operas, paintings, and statues in the Renaissance and after.
The Loves of Acis and Galatea by Alexandre Charles Guillemot (1827)
An 1822 French Empire mantel clock depicting Galatea. The design on its frieze is based on Rafael's fresco
Acis and Galatea hiding from Polyphemus, by Édouard Zier (1877)
Acis, by Philip Galle (1586)
In Greek mythology, the Nereids or Nereides are sea nymphs, the 50 daughters of the 'Old Man of the Sea' Nereus and the Oceanid Doris, sisters to their brother Nerites. They often accompany Poseidon, the god of the sea, and can be friendly and helpful to sailors.
Nereid half reclining on the back of a hippocampus, fresco from Pompeii
French Empire mantel clock (1822) depicting the nereid Galatea velificans
Nereid riding a sea-bull (latter 2nd century BC)
The Nereid Monument. From Xanthos (Lycia), modern-day Antalya Province, Turkey. 390–380 BC. Room 17, the British Museum, London
