A work · 600 BC · Antiquity
Pygmalion
The sculptor who fell in love with his own work. The statue was never going to be able to leave, and the story treats that as part of the appeal rather than a tragedy to be corrected.
The origin, and the reason the feeling has never needed defending so much as explaining. A love that is completely real and completely structured around the other party's inability to reciprocate. Everyone since has rediscovered this.
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