Jayden Zhou, PD 6, 1/7/23

Blog #2
Jayden Zhou, PD 6, 1/7/23
Modern Mythology 2024
Topic: Research Paper



The Story of Narcissus and Echo in the Modern World


Most mythology-related tales (if not all) can connect to our modern world. This can be whether the myth explains why something happens (ex: thunder and lightning strikes because of the god Zues in Greek mythology), or why we name or associate a word to something else. One such example can be found in the Greek myth of Narcissus and Echo.

Why is a flower named after someone? Or even, what does it mean for someone to be a narcissus? To start, the first mention of the word “Narcissus” comes from the Metamorphoses by Ovid (a famous poet). Before his birth, his mother went to the blind prophet, Tiresias, who warned her about his prophecy. He said that Narcissus would live a happy and long life as long as he did not recognize who he was. Nevertheless, Narcissus was born. He was stunningly handsome and pretty much everyone that saw him fell in love with him. However, Narcissus ignored everyone and pushed them away, which brutally crushed their hearts. One of these people was Echo, who was a nymph. Echo was punished by Juno (Hera) for interfering with her and Jupiter (Zues). Echo’s curse was that she can never talk first and can only repeat the last words of someone else. In the scenario with Narcissus, she could not express her love towards him, due to the fact that she can repeat only what he says. Like the others, Narcissus pushed her away and broke her heart too. However on one day, he knelt to drink at a nearby pond, in which he fell in love with his own reflection. He spent many days constantly looking at his own reflection, and when he passed away, a flower was left near the pond in which he died.

This myth has many modern connections to our modern world. On the surface level, it explains why we relate certain words to explain something else. For example, the word “echo” is a sound caused by a reflection from a surface. It always comes last, similarly to how Echo could only repeat what others say. Another example is the word “narcissus”, which describes a flower as well as someone that is egocentric. In context of the myth, the flower describes the beauty of Narcissus, while his personality is also captured with the word. On a deeper level, a theme that emerges from the myth is love and obsession. Both of these terms go hand in hand, and too much of this can lead to one’s downfall.





References:

Kline, A.S, director. Ovid (43 BC–17) - The Metamorphoses: Book 3, 2000, https://www.poetryintranslation.com/PITBR/Latin/Metamorph3.php. Accessed 7 Jan. 2024.