Galatea

The meaning of Galatea is ‘she who is milk-white’. It is a name typically given to girls and is of Greek origin. The name comes from the words ‘galateia’ and is composed of the words 'galene', meaning 'calm' and 'teia', meaning 'milky-white'. In Greek mythology, Galatea was a sea nymph, and the goddess of the calm seas. She is one of the main characters in the Greek legend ‘Acis And Galatea’. Polyphemus, a cyclops, fell in love with her and proposed but Galatea declined. She later fell in love with Acis, a mortal. Unfortunately, Polyphemus became envious of Galtatea's affection for Acis, and crushed him under a massive boulder. Galatea is said to have produced the River Acis from her lover's blood as he died in pain. She was the most beautiful and loved of the 50 nereids born to her parents, Nereus and Doris. According to another legend, a character named Pygmalion sculpted Galatea to look like the woman of his dreams. Pygmalion is taken aback when he sees Galatea in the flesh, having prayed and offered a sacrifice to Aphrodite to bring her to life. They married and had a loving relationship together.