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This Greek myth is adapted from Metamorphosis by Ovid (Publius Ovidius Naso), originally published in Latin in about 8 A.D. A translation by Henry Thomas Riley (1893) is available from |
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| Cephisus is a river god. One day, as the nymph Liriope is listening to his water singing, Cephisus surrounds her and takes her under the water. | ||
| Some time later, Liriope has a baby boy, and she calls him Narcissus. She asks a prophet if the baby will live to old age. The prophet replies, ‘So long as he never recognises himself.’ These words seem silly to Liriope, but they came true in the end. | ||
| Time passes. Now Narcissus is sixteen, and he is like a boy and a young man at the same time. Many young men and women desire him, but he is proud of his beauty, and he cares for neither boys nor girls. | ||
| Echo, the nymph, is a storyteller. She never holds her tongue after somebody else speaks, but she doesn’t ever speak first. | ||
| Echo tells stories to the goddess Juno so that her husband, Jupiter, can disappear with his girlfriends. Juno is jealous, because she knows that Jupiter is making love to the mountain nymphs. She realises that Echo is delaying her with long stories while the nymphs escape. So Juno decides that she shall only let Echo use her voice for short sentences. And so it happens – although Echo still has her body, she can’t use her voice except to repeat the last words that other people say. | ||
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Narcissus’ father is a god. Echo says whatever she wants.Wrong answer! Try again. Juno has many girlfriends.Wrong answer! Try again. |
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