The beautiful Nereid Galatea loved the son of Simefida, young Akidas, and Akidas loved the Nereid. Akid was not the only one captivated by Galatea. The huge cyclops Polyphemus once saw the beautiful Galatea, when she was swimming out of the waves of the azure sea, shining with her beauty, and he was inflamed with frantic love for her. Oh, how great is your power, golden Aphrodite! To the stern Cyclops, whom no one dared to approach with impunity, who despised the Olympian gods, and you breathed love into him! Polyphemus burns from the flame of love. He forgot his sheep and his caves. The wild Cyclops even began to take care of his beauty. He combs his shaggy hair with a pick and trims his scraggly beard with a sickle. He even became less wild and bloodthirsty.
Just at this time, the soothsayer Telem sailed to the shores of Sicily. He predicted to Polyphemus:
- Your only eye, which is in your forehead, will be torn out by the hero Odysseus.
Polyphemus laughed roughly in response to the soothsayer and exclaimed:
“Stupidest of soothsayers, you lied!” Another one has already captured my eye!
Far into the sea a rocky hill jutted out steeply towards the ever-roaring waves. Polyphemus often came with his herd to this hill. There he sat down, placing a club at his feet, which was the size of a ship's mast, took out his pipe made of a hundred reeds and began to blow into it with all his might. The wild sounds of Polyphemus' flute carried far across the sea, over the mountains and valleys. They also reached Akidas and Galatea, who often sat in a cool grotto on the seashore, not far from the hill. Polyphemus played the pipe and sang. Suddenly, like a mad bull, he jumped up. Polyphemus saw Galatea and Acidas in a grotto on the seashore and shouted in such a thunderous voice that echoes echoed on Etna:
- I see you! Okay, this will be your last date!
Galatea was frightened and rushed quickly into the sea. Her native sea waves protected her from Polyphemus. In horror, Akid seeks salvation in flight. He stretches out his hands to the sea and exclaims:
- Oh, help me, Galatea! Parents, save me, shelter me!
Akida is overtaken by a cyclops. He tore a whole rock from the mountain, swung it and threw it at Akida. Although Polyphemus only touched the unfortunate young man with the edge of the rock, he was still completely covered by this edge and crushed. The scarlet blood of Akida flowed in a stream from under the edge of the rock. The scarlet color of the blood gradually disappears, the flow becomes lighter and lighter. Now it already looks like a river that has been muddied by a stormy downpour. It is becoming lighter and more transparent. Suddenly the rock split, crushing Akida. The ringing reeds in the crevice have turned green, and a fast, transparent stream flows from it. From the stream appeared a waist-high young man with a bluish complexion, wearing a wreath of reeds. It was Akid - he became the river god.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru