Narcissus
What is the story of Narcissus?
Why did Narcissus fall in love with himself?
Why are daffodils called Narcissus?
What is the true meaning of Narcissus?
Narcissus, in Greek mythology, the son of the river god Cephissus and the nymph Liriope. He was distinguished for his beauty and was known for his rejection of the nymph Echo. His subsequent transformation into a flower is one of the best-known stories of metamorphosis, a popular mythological theme.
According to Ovidās Metamorphoses, Book III, Liriope was told by the blind seer Tiresias that Narcissus would have a long life, provided he never knew or recognizedāinterpreted as looked atāhimself. However, his rejection of the love of Echo or (in an earlier version) of the young man Ameinias drew upon him the vengeance of the gods. Narcissus was pursued romantically by women and men alike, but he spurned each of them. He similarly dismissed Echo, who had been deprived of speech by the goddess Hera and could only repeat the last words spoken to her by another. Heartbroken after being scorned by Narcissus, Echo faded away until only her voice remained.
Narcissusās pride attracted the wrath of Nemesis, the goddess of retribution, who caused him to fall in love with his own reflection in the waters of a spring or pool. He pined away (or killed himself), and the flower that bears his name sprang up where he died. The Greek traveler and geographer Pausanias, in Description of Greece, Book IX, said it was more likely that Narcissus, to console himself for the death of his beloved twin sister, his exact counterpart, sat gazing into the spring to recall her features.
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The story may have derived from the ancient Greek superstition that it was unlucky or even fatal to see oneās own reflection. Narcissus was a very popular subject in Roman art and was frequently represented in frescoes (such as those discovered in the ruins of Pompeii) and sculpture. He was also notably portrayed by Caravaggio, who created the oil painting Narcissus between 1597 and 1599. In Freudian psychiatry and psychoanalysis, the term narcissism denotes an inflated self-image or excessive self-involvement, a condition that is usually a form of emotional immaturity.