"Narcissus is another example among several
of a beautiful young man who spurned sex and died as a result.
As such, his myth has much in common with those of Adonis and Hippolytus.
In the Roman poet Ovid's retelling of the myth, Narcissus is
the son of the river god Cephissus and
the nymph Liriope. Tiresias,
the seer, told his parents that the child "would live to an
old age if it did not look at itself." Many nymphs and girls
fell in love with him but he rejected them. One of these nymphs,Echo,
was so distraught over this rejection that she withdrew into
a lonely spot and faded until all that was left was a plaintive
whisper. The goddess Nemesis heard
the rejected girls prayers for vengeance and arranged for Narcissus
to fall in love with his own reflection. He stayed watching
his reflection and let himself die. It is quite possible, however,
that the connection between Echo and Narcissus was entirely
Ovid's own invention, for there is no earlier witness to it.
An important and earlier variation of this tale originates
in the region in Greek known as Boeotia (to the north and west
of Athens). Narcissus lived in the city of Thespiae. A young
man, Ameinias, was in love with Narcissus, but he rejected
Ameinias' love. He grew tired of Ameinias' affections and sent
him a present of a sword. Ameinias killed himself with the
sword in front of Narcissus' door and as he died, he called
curses upon Narcissus. One day Narcissus fell in love with
his own reflection in a spring and, in desperation, killed
himself.
Both of these stories give an origin to the
narcissus flower, which grew where Narcissus died. "1
H: 8 1/4 "
White Polyresin
GK6300 - Narcissus for $32.99:
