Narcissus (mythology)
Hunter from Greek myth who fell in love with his own reflection.
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Narcissus is a figure from Greek mythology who was so impossibly handsome that he fell in love with his own image reflected in a pool of water.[1] His name lives on as the flower into which he was transformed and as a synonym for those obsessed with their own appearance.[1]
Quick Facts
- Mythological origin
- Greek mythology
- Parents (in some versions)
- River god Cephissus and nymph Liriope
- Parents (in nonnus)
- Lunar goddess Selene and mortal Endymion
- Associated location
- Thespiae in Boeotia (alternatively Mimas or Karaburun, İzmir)
- Transformation
- Turned into a narcissus flower
Facts from the source article.
Key facts and history
Narcissus was born in Thespiae in Boeotia, the son of the river god Cephissus and the nymph Liriope.[1] Echo spied Narcissus hunting and became infatuated, following him.[2] When Narcissus sensed he was followed and shouted, Echo could only repeat his words.[2] Narcissus rejected Echo and other suitors, including the young man Ameinias.[3][4]
Ameinias killed himself at Narcissus's doorstep after Narcissus gave him a sword.[4] Narcissus then saw his reflection in a pool and fell in love with it, not realizing it was his own.[3] Unable to leave the image, Narcissus melted away and turned into a gold and white flower.[3] In Ovid's telling, the narrative deals with deception, self-awareness, and the sorrow of love that cannot be returned.[5]
Juno limited Echo's speech after the nymph distracted her with talk while Jove was having an affair.[6] Conon's version presents the story as a moral lesson concerning cruelty and its consequences.[5] Pausanias describes a different version where Narcissus becomes enamored with his twin sister, not with himself.[7]
What the cited sources add
The Cartwright account notes that Narcissus pined away in despair until he died of thirst and starvation.[1] A version rediscovered among the Oxyrhynchus papyri, ascribed to Parthenius of Nicaea, is very concise and makes no mention of Echo.[8][9] In that version, it is Narcissus's blood that produces the narcissus flower.[9] According to the ToposText account, the Thespians began to specially revere Eros among the gods as a result of the tragic events.[10]
References
- Cartwright, "Narcissus", World History Encyclopedia, March 5, 2023. facts only, no text reused. worldhistory.org
- Wikipedia, "Narcissus (mythology)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Bergmann, "The Legend of Narcissus", American Imago, 1984, p. 389–411 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Narcissus (mythology)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Vinge, "The Narcissus Myth in Western Literature up until the Early 19th Century", litteraturbanken.se, 1967a; "The myth of Narcissus"; Tzetzes, "Chiliades, 1.9" (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Narcissus (mythology)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Henry, "New Light on the Narcissus Myth", The Oxyrhynchus Papyri, Oxford University (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Narcissus (mythology)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Miyawaki, Edison. “Narcissus.” In What to Read on Love, Not Sex: Freud, Fiction, and the Articulation of Truth in Modern Psychological Science, University of Ca (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Narcissus (mythology)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Cartwright, "Narcissus", World History Encyclopedia, March 5, 2023; Stone, "The Myth of Narcissus as a Surreptitious Allegory about Creativity", Philosophy and Literature, 2016, p. 273–284 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Narcissus (mythology)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Pausanias, <i>Description of Greece</i>", Perseus Digital Library; Jacoby, "Individuation and Narcissism: The psychology of self in Jung and Kohut", Routledge, 1991 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Narcissus (mythology)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Henry, "New Light on the Narcissus Myth", The Oxyrhynchus Papyri, Oxford University; Keys, "Ancient manuscript sheds new light on an enduring myth", May 2004, p. 9; Henry, "New Light on the Narcissus Myth", The Oxyrhynchus Papyri, Oxford University (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Henry, "New Light on the Narcissus Myth", The Oxyrhynchus Papyri, Oxford University. facts only, no text reused. oxyrhynchus.web.ox.ac.uk
- Wikipedia, "Narcissus (mythology)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "ToposText", topostext.org; "The myth of Narcissus" (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Narcissus (mythology) (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Narcissus (mythology) (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Word definitions: the , each quoted from its Wikipedia article.
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