[Acis is Murdered by Polyphemus] · Centre for Early Modern Visual Culture

Title: [Acis is Murdered by Polyphemus]
Period: 1550-1600;
Geographic: Italy; Sicily
Description: This engraving illustrates Polyphemus, a cyclops, hurling a massive boulder at Acis. Polyphemus was in love with Galatea, a nereid who did not mutually share this feeling. Galatea was in love with Acis and rejected Polyphemus’ affections. One day, Polyphemus found the two lovers embracing and chased Acis until he threw a massive rock at him. The boulder crushed Acis as illustrated in the engraving. Galatea is depicted in the background of the engraving running away from Polyphemus. Acis' blood transforms into a river.
Image Creator: Virgil Solis (Engraver)
Type: Text; Woodcut Engraving
Identifier: mta:11867
Language: spa
Source Name: Las Transformaciones de Ovidio en lengua Española, repartidas en quinze libros, con las Allegorias al fin dellos, y sus figuras, para prouecho de los Artifices [The Transformations of Ovid in the Spanish language, distributed in fifteen books, with the allegories at the end of them and their figures, for the benefit of the creators]
Parent Collection: Las Transformaciones de Ovidio en lengua Española. Woodcut engravings by Virgil Solis (1595)
Image: mta_11867_OBJ.jpg
Collection: Ovid's Metamorphoses
Subject: Greek Mythology; Infatuation; Nereids; Cyclops; Roman Mythology