Pygmalion of Tyre Pygmalion of Tyre Pygmalion (also known as Pu'mayyaton) was king of Tyre from 831 to 785 BC and a son of King Mattan I (840-832 BC). During Pygmalion's reign, Tyre seems to have shifted the heart of its trading empire from the Middle East to the Mediterranean, as can be judged from the building of new colonies including Kition on Cyprus, Sardinia (see Nora Stone discussion below), and, according to tradition, Carthage. For the story surrounding the founding of Carthage, see Dido. A possible reference to Pygmalion is an interpretation of the Nora Stone, found on Sardinia in 1773 and,
Pygmalion (mythology) day came, and Pygmalion made offerings at the altar of Aphrodite. There, too scared to admit his desire, he quietly wished for a bride who would be "the living likeness of my ivory girl." When he returned home, he kissed his ivory statue, and found that its lips felt warm. He kissed it again, and found that the ivory had lost its hardness. Aphrodite had granted Pygmalion's wish. Pygmalion married the ivory sculpture which changed to a woman under Aphrodite's blessing. In Ovid's narrative, they had a daughter, Paphos, from whom the city's name is derived. In some versions Paphos