ECHO & NARCISSUS
ECHO & NARCISSUS
Zeus, the King of the Olympians, was known for his
many love affairs. Sometimes the young and beautiful Nymph Echo would
distract and amuse his wife Hera with long and entertaining stories,
while Zeus took advantage of the moment to ravish the other mountain
nymphs. When Hera discovered the trickery she punished the talkative
Echo by taking away her voice, except in foolish repetition of
another's shouted words. Thus, all Echo could do was repeat the voice
of another.
Echo fell
in love with a vain youth named Narcissus, who was the son of the blue
Nymph Leiriope of Thespia. The River god Cephisus had once encircled
Leirope with the windings of his streams, and thus trapping her, had
seduced the nymph. Narcissus was their child.
Concerned about the baby's welfare, Leirope went to
consult the oracle called Teiresias regarding her son's future.
Teiresias told the nymph that Narcissus "would live to a ripe old
age, as long as he never knew himself."
Narcissus was beautiful as a child and grew even more
so as he matured. By the age of sixteen he had left a trail of broken
hearts, from rejected lovers of both sexes. Narcissus wanted nothing
to do with falling in love with anyone and rebuffed all attempts at
romance.
One day when Narcissus
was out hunting stags, Echo stealthily followed the handsome youth
through the woods, longing to address him but unable to speak first.
When Narcissus finally heard footsteps and shouted "Who's
there?", Echo answered "Who's there?" And so it went,
until finally Echo showed herself and rushed to embrace the lovely
youth.
He pulled away from the
nymph and vainly told her to get lost. Narcissus left Echo heartbroken
and she spent the rest of her life in lonely glens, pining away for the
love she never knew, until only her voice remained.
A man named Ameinius
was one of Narcissus' most ardent admirers, and repeatedly vied for
his attention. The conceited youth responded by sending his suitor a
sword, telling him to prove his adoration. Ameinious proceeded to
plunge the sword into his heart, committing suicide to demonstrate his
love, but not before he beseeched the gods to punish the vain
Narcissus.
The goddess of the
hunt, Artemis, heard the plea and made Narcissus fall in love, but a
kind a love that couldn't be fulfilled. Narcissus came upon a clear
spring at Donacon in Thespia and, as he bent low to take a drink, for
the first time caught sight of himself reflected in the pool. Try as
he might to touch this exquisite person in the waters, however, he
never could.
For hours he sat enraptured
by the spring, at last recognizing himself but tortured by the
realization that he could never possess the object of his infatuation.
Narcissus was tormented, much as he had tormented all those who in the
past had been unlucky enough to fall in love with him.
Finally unable to stand
the agony Narcissus plunged a dagger in his heart and died, calling
out a last goodbye to his reflected image. Where his blood soaked the
earth sprung up the white narcissus flower with its red corollary.
