Acis- Greek DemigodDemigod

The Lovers and the Cyclops

Acis was a young shepherd of Sicily, the son of Pan and the river nymph Symaethis. He lived on the slopes of Mount Etna, tending his flocks along the coast where the Nereid Galatea, daughter of Nereus, would come ashore to bask in the sun. The two became lovers, meeting secretly in the shadow of volcanic cliffs while Acis sang pastoral songs and offered Galatea garlands of flowers and wild fruit.

The Cyclops Polyphemus, who dwelt in a cave on Mount Etna, desired Galatea himself. The one-eyed giant tried to court her with songs and pastoral gifts: cheeses and wild strawberries. He combed his shaggy hair with a rake and trimmed his beard with a scythe. But Galatea loved only the gentle Acis. One day Polyphemus discovered the lovers lying together on the shore. In a fury, the Cyclops tore a massive chunk of rock from the mountainside and hurled it at Acis, crushing the shepherd beneath its weight. Galatea fled into the sea.

Blood into Water

As Acis lay dying beneath the boulder, the gods took pity on Galatea's grief. The blood seeping from beneath the rock began to change. It ran clear, then blue-green, and became a river that burst forth from under the stone. Acis rose from the waters as a river god, horned and crowned with reeds, standing taller than the mortal youth had been.

The river Acis flows from the base of Mount Etna to the coast near the ancient town of Acireale, its waters cold and clear from the volcanic rock through which they pass. In Ovid's telling, Galatea herself narrates the story to the nymph Scylla on the Sicilian shore.