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Context
The story of “Echo and Narcissus” appears in book 3 of Ovid’s Metamorphoses. The story before “Echo and Narcissus” is “The Story of Tiresias,” where a man named Tiresias was given the power to see the future from Jove out of pity because Juno had turned him blind. The story of Tiresias connects to “Echo and Narcissus” when a naiad named Liriope had a child with the river-god Cephisus and asked Tiresias if her son Narcissus would live a long life. Tiresias said that Narcissus would live to a ripe age if he never looked at or knew himself.
When Narcissus grew older, he caught the attention of everyone around him but returned nobody’s love. Echo fell in love with Narcissus but was unable to speak to him due to the curse she was given by Juno of only being able to echo others. When they finally came into contact with each other, Narcissus harshly rejected Echo and she wilted away in the forests and caves until she became nothing more than just a voice. Narcissus continued to break everyone’s hearts until he was cursed by Nemesis, the goddess of divine retribution and revenge, to not win over the love of who he loves.
Narcissus later catches a glimpse of his reflection in a pond when trying to get a drink of water while he was out hunting. He immediately fell in love with himself and tried so hard to touch and kiss the reflection, but every time he touched the water, he would create ripples, causing the reflection to disappear. Full of despair, Narcissus slowly becomes insane because of the unrequited love from his reflection and dies, turning into a flower with a yellow center surrounded by white petals known today as the Narcissus flower.
The story of “Echo and Narcissus” then transitions to the story of “Pentheus and Bacchus.” Word got out about the prophecy of Narcissus, and everyone honored Tiresias his wisdom except for one person: Pentheus, who mocked and ridiculed the prophecies. “Echo and Narcissus” acts as a bridging story between “Tiresias” and “Pentheus and Bacchus.” In the preceding story, Tiresias gets his powers, in “Echo and Narcissus” Tiresias makes a prophecy that comes true, and in the succeeding story Tireseas gets honored for his wisdom.
“Echo and Narcissus” also has many other versions before and after Ovid’s, all of them being very different from each other. In fact, Ovid’s version of the story is the only one that features Echo. One version was written by a Greek mythographer named Conon (66 BCE - 14 CE). In Conon’s version, a young man named Ameinias was repeatedly rejected by Narcissus. Narcissus sent Ameinias a sword and told him to kill himself, which he does, praying to the gods for revenge. Narcissus later takes his own life over the sadness of the unrequited love from his reflection and possibly the guilt from the death of Ameinias. His blood soaks into the earth, sprouting the Narcissus flower.
Another version of the story was by the Greek traveler and writer Pausanias (110 CE - 180 CE). In Pausanias’s version, Narcissus had a twin sister who looked and dressed exactly like him. Narcissus fell in love with her, but she passed away, causing him to constantly look at his reflection to remind himself of her.
When Narcissus grew older, he caught the attention of everyone around him but returned nobody’s love. Echo fell in love with Narcissus but was unable to speak to him due to the curse she was given by Juno of only being able to echo others. When they finally came into contact with each other, Narcissus harshly rejected Echo and she wilted away in the forests and caves until she became nothing more than just a voice. Narcissus continued to break everyone’s hearts until he was cursed by Nemesis, the goddess of divine retribution and revenge, to not win over the love of who he loves.
Narcissus later catches a glimpse of his reflection in a pond when trying to get a drink of water while he was out hunting. He immediately fell in love with himself and tried so hard to touch and kiss the reflection, but every time he touched the water, he would create ripples, causing the reflection to disappear. Full of despair, Narcissus slowly becomes insane because of the unrequited love from his reflection and dies, turning into a flower with a yellow center surrounded by white petals known today as the Narcissus flower.
The story of “Echo and Narcissus” then transitions to the story of “Pentheus and Bacchus.” Word got out about the prophecy of Narcissus, and everyone honored Tiresias his wisdom except for one person: Pentheus, who mocked and ridiculed the prophecies. “Echo and Narcissus” acts as a bridging story between “Tiresias” and “Pentheus and Bacchus.” In the preceding story, Tiresias gets his powers, in “Echo and Narcissus” Tiresias makes a prophecy that comes true, and in the succeeding story Tireseas gets honored for his wisdom.
“Echo and Narcissus” also has many other versions before and after Ovid’s, all of them being very different from each other. In fact, Ovid’s version of the story is the only one that features Echo. One version was written by a Greek mythographer named Conon (66 BCE - 14 CE). In Conon’s version, a young man named Ameinias was repeatedly rejected by Narcissus. Narcissus sent Ameinias a sword and told him to kill himself, which he does, praying to the gods for revenge. Narcissus later takes his own life over the sadness of the unrequited love from his reflection and possibly the guilt from the death of Ameinias. His blood soaks into the earth, sprouting the Narcissus flower.
Another version of the story was by the Greek traveler and writer Pausanias (110 CE - 180 CE). In Pausanias’s version, Narcissus had a twin sister who looked and dressed exactly like him. Narcissus fell in love with her, but she passed away, causing him to constantly look at his reflection to remind himself of her.