Hera, queen of the gods, was on the edge of her throne. A mountain nymph named Echo, known for her charm and chatter, was telling him a thrilling story.
But what Hera didn't know was that Echo was merely distracting her while her husband Zeus was making out with other nymphs.
Unfortunately for Echo
Zeus gets sloppy, and Hera realizes what's going on. Enraged by Echo's duplicity—and helpless to stop her husband's adultery—Hira decides to silence the nymph for good.
From then on, Echo could no longer captivate the audience with her stories. She could only repeat the last words the other had said.
As her conversation grew dull and her company unwelcome, Echo grew frustrated. One day when Echo was walking through the forest, she saw a young man hunting a deer.
It was Narcissus, the stunningly beautiful son of a river god and a water nymph. After his birth, a seer gave his mother a cryptic prophecy: Narcissus would live a long life—but only if he never really knew himself.
No One Was Quite Sure What To Make Of It
And, meanwhile, Narcissus became a proud young man. Her good looks attracted many admirers.
But she preferred to live on her own and left a trail of broken hearts as a result. Echo was filled with longing to see Nargis there. Unable to strike up a conversation, she followed him.
Soon, Narcissus heard a rustling, and called out, "Who goes there?
Who are you?"
Echo revealed herself, but only repeated the word "you", making her tone as cute as possible as she went to catch him.
Annoyed, Narcissus said, "Let me go, I cannot stay." Echo could only respond with a request to do the same for her.
Freeing Herself From His Embrace
Narcissus exclaimed, "I'd rather have you love me than die!" To which Echo could only cry, "Love me... love me."
Narcissus once again asks Echo to leave her alone, then leaves her sight. Echo wandered off to a cave.
And little by little, his heart grew heavy and his body weakened until all that was left of him was his voice, carried by the wind into the vast, empty spaces.
Ever after, it can be heard echoing through hollow caverns and rebounding in lonely spaces. But this was also not the first time that heartbreak on Narcissus proved fatal.
A young man named Amenias was also cruelly rejected by Narcissus. Before her death, she prayed to Nemesis, the goddess of vengeance, that Narcissus too would one day know the pain of love.
He Listens To Amenias' Pleas And
Seeing Echo's fate, decides that this will be the final showdown. It was time for revenge. So, Nemesis lures Narcissus to a clear, glassy pool.
As he bent down to drink water, his eyes fell on a handsome young man. Narcissus had never seen herself so clearly before.
He spent the day familiarizing himself with every shining angle and then fell asleep in the evening looking at his reflection in the moonlight and scooping water from his fingers.
Days passed, and Narcissus was never separated from his one true love. When he reached out, his double reached him. And when he leaned in for a kiss, she leaned her face in too.
But when he tried to catch the charming figure, he disappeared. After all, Narcissus knew the agony of unrequited love. Having nothing to eat or drink, Narcissus was also ruined.
His neck hurt from bending over the lake, and his legs dragged to the grass. When the wood nymph finally passed by, all she was left with was a white and yellow flower that was bowing to her reflection. Since then she came to be known as Nargis.
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