As Apollo was the most beautiful of all the gods, so Venus, the queen of love and beauty, was the fairest of the goddesses. […] So the days passed on, until the time of the great festival of Venus was at hand. Venus, you know, was the goddess of love, and once a year, the youths and maidens of Cyprus had a great celebration in her honor. […] On this day Pygmalion joined the train of young men and at last stood before the altar in the temple of Venus. […] She loved him, of course; for Venus had not only turned the marble to life, she had also made Galatea return the sculptor’s great love.