But Narcissus is completely freaked out, and yells at Echo to stay away. In fact, he says something like "I would die before I let you have me. Yeah, we thought so too. Echo runs away crying, and hides in a cave. What else can you do when someone says they'd rather die than be with you? Oh, Echo is partly at fault, sure. Stalking people and jumping out of bushes is just creepy. But there's no forgiving Narcissus either. Feeling ashamed and unwanted, Echo stays hidden. Unfortunately, she continues to pine for Narcissus.
No matter how long she waits, her love doesn't fade. Eventually she gets grossly skinny with hunger, and over time her body literally withers away, becoming dust. Her bones turn to stone, leaving only her voice. Are you picturing this in your head? Her voice lives on, wandering the world and repeating whatever it hears. Now, while Echo has been wasting away, Narcissus has been out hunting deer and breaking hearts.
Echo is by no means the only woman or man captured by his charms, but Narcissus refuses them all. To be honest, we're not sure why. Ovid writes that Narcissus is too proud to accept a lover, but man, this is one major game of playing hard-to-get. Whatever the case, one of Narcissus' rejected lovers finally appeals to the gods for justice. Nemesis, goddess of vengeance, hears the call and responds. It's on. Narcissus grows tired and thirsty from hunting. He stumbles upon a small clearing with a silver pool at its center.
Fresh grass grows around the pool, and tall trees keep it well shaded from the sun. The surface of the water shines, and it's clear that no man or animal has disturbed the pool in many years. If you ever come across a place like this, run.
It's obviously a trap. Sadly, Narcissus doesn't know it's a trap. He kneels in the grass, stretching out his hands for a drink, and BAM. He catches sight of his reflection in the water and falls completely in love.
Remember what Tiresias said at the beginning of the story? At first Narcissus isn't smart enough to realize that the guy in the water is his reflection. Although, in all fairness, the ancient Greek world was full of some weird stuff. Maybe he thought he was looking at a water spirit or something. In any case, he really wants to get his hands on his new love. He lowers his head and tries to kiss the image. He dips his arms into the pool and tries to grasp it.
That is, she only can repeat other people's utterances. When the dying Narcissus calls "farewell" to his own image, Echo can only repeat the words—a final good-bye. In the place where Narcissus dies, a beautiful flower grows, and the nymphs call it Narcissus. Apollo and Hyacinthus are best friends. They compete to see who can throw a discus the farthest. In the competition, Apollo accidentally throws his discus into Hyacinthus, killing him.
As Apollo holds the body of his best friend, he wishes that he himself would stop living so that the beautiful, young Hyacinthus could live on. As he speaks those words, the blood spilling from the dying youth turns the grass green, and a beautiful flower grows—the hyacinth.
Adonis is an extremely handsome young man, and Aphrodite falls in love with him. She puts him in Persephone 's care, but she also falls in love with him.
Finally, Zeus intervenes and decides that Adonis shall spend half the year with Persephone and half the year with Aphrodite. One day, Adonis hunts a wild boar and thinks he killed it. But the boar was only wounded, and it fiercely lunges at Adonis as he approaches.
Aphrodite flies to him and holds him, dying, in her arms. Flowers grow where the blood wets the ground. The story of Narcissus concerns the dangers of self-love. Western culture often returns to consider the nature of the self-absorbed individual. Literature, art, and philosophy have investigated the relative importance of self-love.
Here, the extreme form of self-love is figured as a warning. Echo is yet another unfortunate female who is a victim of Hera's jealousy. Echo reflects the echoes people hear across empty spaces, and wildflowers were revered as physical reminders of a Greek's beauty and fertility. Together, the stories of Narcissus and Echo represent the tragedy of missed connections, for they both love wrongly.
Narcissus loves simply a reflection; Echo loves someone who cannot love another. The Greek myths thus explore sad scenarios that leave certain characters unhappy or unfulfilled. It seems that the gods have the power to make everything "right" and could make love reciprocal, but they rarely choose to do so.
From the troubles of love arise many the complex dramas of the human condition. The story is about Echo who is deeply in love with Narcissus who is a cruel person.
He fell in love with himself and became poor until he realized that he lost someone like Echo. Or self-love or vanity, or however you wish to describe it. It is this fatal flaw with which Narcissus has become associated. However, his personality was more far complex than we think. Last Updated: 4th June, What is Narcissus's major character flaw? He is conceited. How does Hera punish Echo? Echo can only repeat what others say. Maj Avalov Professional. What does the story of Narcissus teach us?
The first thing that the story of Echo and Narcissus teaches us is to beware the trap of vanity or self-adoration. Basically, don't go around thinking you 're all that. Narcissus is so attractive that he practically has to carry around a spear to keep the girls away. The problem is that he knows how attractive he is.
Nisar Kreft Professional. What type of character is Narcissus? Narcissus was a figure in ancient Greek mythology, son of the nymph Liriope and river deity Cephissus. He was exceptionally handsome, but cruel and disinterested in those who sought his affection.
Leszek Brinkhaus Professional. Who was Narcissus in love with? Narcissus was a hunter in Greek mythology, son of the river god Cephissus and the nymph Liriope. He was a very beautiful young man, and many fell in love with him. However, he only showed them disdain and contempt. Yibo Molck Explainer. Why did Narcissus fall in love with himself?
Narcissus did not realize it was merely his own reflection and fell deeply in love with it, as if it were somebody else. Narcissus walked by a pool of water and decided to drink some.
He saw his reflection, became entranced by it, and killed himself because he could not have his object of desire. Alaa Hatebur Explainer. What did Narcissus turn into?
Narcissus is a figure from Greek mythology who was so impossibly handsome that he fall in love with his own image reflected in a pool of water. Narcissus ' name lives on as the flower into which he was transformed and as a synonym for those obsessed with their own appearance. Danna Tsaliev Explainer.
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