Echo and Narkissos

Lineage, Character, and Vanity of Narkissos

Narkissos was the son of a river god and a nymph. He possessed such exceptional beauty that every young woman who saw him immediately fell in love with him, making him completely irresistible. However, his mother spoiled him terribly during his upbringing. She repeatedly told him that he was far too handsome to ever settle for any of the local beautiful women.

Over time, Narkissos became so immensely self-satisfied that he came to believe no woman on Earth was good enough for him. He harbored the delusion that he was one of the divine gods of Olympos, the sacred mountain where the gods resided. Eventually, his extreme arrogance made him intolerable to his friends, and they could no longer stand to be around him. Narkissos, however, remained entirely content in his own exclusive company.

Echo's Deception and Hera's Curse

Echo was a beautiful nymph who found herself entangled in a divine predicament. One day, she discovered the god Zeus engaging in sexual intercourse with another beautiful nymph. Immediately afterward, she encountered Hera, the wife of Zeus. Realizing what was at stake, Echo understood that she needed to delay and distract Hera with continuous talking so that Hera would not catch her husband red-handed in the act of infidelity.

Echo successfully carried out her distraction. However, when Hera later discovered the affair and realized that Echo had known about the situation all along, Hera punished the nymph in a terrible manner. Echo lost her capacity to speak anything before someone else had spoken first. Stripped of her ability to speak with her own independent voice, she was condemned to only repeat the words that others had already said.

The Forest Encounter Between Narkissos and Echo

One day, while Narkissos was hunting in the forest, he became separated from his companions. Realizing he was lost, he called out into the woods: «Er det nokon der?» ("Is anyone there?"). Echo, who was nearby, could only respond by repeating the final words: «nokon der» ("someone there").

Confused by the unseen speaker, Narkissos called out again: «Kvifor flyktar du?» ("Why are you fleeing?") followed by «la oss møtast» ("let us meet"). Echo immediately repeated his invitation back to him: «La oss møtast» ("Let us meet"). Driven by her love and his call, Echo finally found Narkissos in the forest and approached him.