The ancient Greeks tell of a nymph named Echo who fell in love with the handsome Narcissus.
Narcissus cruelly rejected Echo, who, heartbroken, wasted away until only her voice remained.
The goddess Nemesis witnessed this act of cruelty and decided to punish Narcissus. She led him to a quiet pool of water. As he bent to drink, he saw his own reflection, fell in love with his face, and was trapped there forever, spellbound.
“Narcissus does not fall in love with his reflection because it is beautiful, but because it is his. If it were his beauty that enthralled him, he would be set free in a few years by its fading.” – W. H. Auden (1907 – 1973)
And now you know where we get the words narcissist, nemesis, and echo. – Indy Beagle
