Narcissistic in greek mythology

Narcissus - World History Encyclopedia

Definition

Narcissus

Caravaggio (Public Domain)

Narcissus is a figure from Greek mythology who was so impossibly handsome that he fell in love with his own image reflected in a pool of water. Even the lovely nymph Echo could not manage to tempt him from his self-absorption. Narcissus' name lives on as the flower into which he was transformed and as a synonym for those obsessed with their own appearance.

Narcissus & His Reflection

Narcissus was born in Thespiae in Boeotia, the son of Cephissus (the personification of the Boeotian river of the same name) and the nymph Liriope. His mother was warned one day by the seer Teiresias that her son would live a long life as long as 'he never knows himself.' As he reached his teenage years, the handsome youth never found anyone that could pull his heartstrings, indeed, he left in his wake a long trail of distressed and broken-hearted maidens, and one or two young men fell by the wayside too. Then, one day, he chanced to see his own reflection in a pool of water and, thus, discovered the ultimate in unrequited love and fell in love with himself. Naturally, this one-way relationship went nowhere, and Narcissus, unable to draw himself away from the pool, pined away in despair until he finally died of thirst and starvation. Immortality, at least of a kind, was assured, though, when his corpse (or in some versions the blood from his self-inflicted stab wound) turned into the flowers which, thereafter, bore his name.

Remove Ads

Immortality, at least of a kind, was assured, though, when Narcissus' corpse or blood turned into the flowers which, thereafter, bore his name.

Narcissus & Echo

Another version of the myth appears in the work of the Roman writer Ovid. In this telling, Narcissus is as handsome as ever but cruelly refuses the advances of Echo. The lovely nymph, heartbroken, wastes away and dies with only her voice remaining to echo her plight. As a punishment for his neglect, Narcissus is then killed. Another version has Echo punished by Hera because she kept the goddess distracted with stories while the lovers of her husband Zeus, the mountain nymphs, escaped Mt. Olympus without notice. This explains why Echo could only repeat what others said to her. It is Echo in this form that Narcissus comes across one day while hunting deer in the forest. After a useless exchange of repeated words and statements, Echo tries to embrace the youth, but he rejects her and dashes off back home. Echo then pines away in the forest so that her body eventually perishes and only her voice remains.

Narcissus Flowers

Johnathan J. Stegeman (GNU FDL)

Ameinius & Artemis

Other stories which diverge from the original myth have Narcissus, like with the Echo story, play the role of a mean rejector of suitors. One of the youth's most ardent admirers was Ameinius, but Narcissus merely sent him a sword to do away with himself, which he did. On dying, Ameinius cursed the object of his unbound affections and asked the gods to punish him. Artemis responds to the request - perhaps showing a dislike for rival hunters – and compels Narcissus to tragically fall in love with his reflection.

Remove Ads

YouTube Follow us on Youtube!

Narcissus in Art & Culture

Unlike for Greek artists, the Roman version of Narcissus and Echo was a very popular subject in Roman art and is seen in almost 50 wall paintings at Pompeii alone. Renaissance art also took a shine to Narcissus; the story involving light and reflection proved irresistible to Caravaggio, who captured the myth in his celebrated 16th-century CE oil painting. Finally, his name lives on today in psychoanalysis where narcissism refers to the personality disorder of excessive self-admiration and preoccupation with one's appearance.

Did you like this definition?

Editorial Review This article has been reviewed for accuracy, reliability and adherence to academic standards prior to publication.

Bibliography

Graves, R. The Greek Myths. Penguin UK, 2011.
Hope Moncrieff, A.R. Classical Mythology. Senate, 1996
Hornblower, S. The Oxford Classical Dictionary. Oxford University Press, 2012.

Translations

We want people all over the world to learn about history. Help us and translate this definition into another language! So far, we have translated it to: French, Turkish, Portuguese

About the Author

Mark Cartwright

Mark is a full-time author, researcher, historian, and editor. Special interests include art, architecture, and discovering the ideas that all civilizations share. He holds an MA in Political Philosophy and is the WHE Publishing Director.

Free for the World, Supported by You

World History Encyclopedia is a non-profit organization. For only $5 per month you can become a member and support our mission to engage people with cultural heritage and to improve history education worldwide.

Become a Member Donate

Recommended Books

The Greek Myths: The Complete And Definitive Edition

Written by Graves, Robert, published by Penguin UK (2011)

$21.31
Narcissus

Written by Caxito, Fabricio, published by Independently published (2020)

$4.38
Narcissus & Goldmund

Written by Hermann Hesse, published by Penguin Classics (2017)

$12.81
Narcissus and Goldmund: A Novel

Written by Hesse, Hermann & Molinaro, Ursule, published by Picador (2003)

$19. 76 &dollar;18.79
The Black Condition ft. Narcissus

Written by dodd, jayy, published by Nightboat Books (2019)

$15.95

License & Copyright

Submitted by Mark Cartwright, published on 20 February 2017. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon this content non-commercially, as long as they credit the author and license their new creations under the identical terms. When republishing on the web a hyperlink back to the original content source URL must be included. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms.

Narcissus in Greek Mythology | Who Was Narcissus?

History Courses / Ancient Greece Study Guide Course / Mythology in Ancient Greece Chapter

Emily Rogers, Christopher Muscato

Author Emily Rogers
Emily Rogers has taught information evaluation and research skills as a school librarian for over seven years. She has a bachelor’s degree in English and French from Sewanee: The University of the South and a master’s degree in library and information science from Louisiana State University.
View bio
Instructor Christopher Muscato
Chris has a master's degree in history and teaches at the University of Northern Colorado.
View bio

Explore the Greek Mythology of Narcissus to find out more about the Narcissus myth. Learn why narcissism was named after the mythological god of vanity. Updated: 11/01/2021

Who Was Narcissus?
The Story of Narcissus
Narcissism and the God of Vanity
Lesson Summary

Show

Who Was Narcissus?

The story of Narcissus comes from Greek mythology. Narcissus is the son of the river god, Cephissus and a nymph named Liriope. Famous for his beauty, Narcissus fell in love with his reflection. The Narcissus myth has been featured in many paintings and other works of art.

Narcissus

Generally, if someone compares your looks to a figure from Greek mythology, it's a compliment. After all, many Greek deities and heroes were famously good-looking. At the same time, however, that attractiveness often came with a price.

The most famous example of this in Greek mythology is the story of Narcissus, the man who fell in love with his own reflection. He had the looks of a Greek god, but also the vanity of one, and in the end he became the ultimate victim of unrequited love.

The Story of Narcissus

When Narcissus was young, Liriope went to a seer named Tiresias to ask if her son would live a long life. Tiresias responded that Narcissus would live a long life as long as he never knew himself. Liriope was puzzled by this strange response, but time passed, and Narcissus became a young man. Narcissus was extremely good-looking. His beauty attracted all kinds of admirers, but Narcissus was not interested in any of them. One day, after hunting for some time, Narcissus lay beside a still pool of water. When he saw his own reflection, Narcissus fell deeply in love with himself. He tried to reach out and embrace the figure in the water, but he could not. He was so drawn to his image that he could not leave the water's edge. Eventually, Narcissus' love for his reflection caused him to weaken and die. When the nymphs came to bury him, his body transformed into a beautiful white daffodil flower which came to be known as the Narcissus.

Narcissus transformed into a daffodil.

The Narcissus Myth in Ancient Greece, Rome, and Beyond

The myth of Narcissus originated in ancient Greece, and there are many variations in the story. Some variations on the Narcissus myth include:

Ancient Greek mythographer, Konon's version of the myth of Narcissus takes place in the Greek city of Thespeia. In Konon's tale, Narcissus scorns Eros, the god of love. Narcissus is very beautiful and for that reason, many people fell in love with him. Narcissus refuses all suitors. A man named Ameinias falls deeply in love with Narcissus. When Ameinias goes to see Narcissus, Narcissus cruelly sends him a sword. Overcome with sorrow, Ameinias asks Eros to avenge him and then ends his own life with the sword. Narcissus falls in love with the person he sees when he looks into the pool. Konon's version of Narcissus does not recognize that the reflection in the water is his own reflection. Narcissus becomes distraught because he, like Ameinias, cannot reach the person that he loves. Eventually, Narcissus ends his own life. The Thespians learned from Narcissus that they should celebrate and honor Eros.

Another version of the Narcissus myth comes from Pausanias. In Pausanias' story, Narcissus had a twin sister who looked exactly like him. Narcissus and his sister did everything together and Narcissus loved her very much. When his sister died, Narcissus found solace in looking at his reflection in the pond to remind himself of his sister. This version of Narcissus knows that he is looking at his own reflection. He does not fall in love with himself; instead, his reflection allows him to remember his sister.
The most widely known story comes from the Roman poet Ovid's famous work: Metamorphoses. Metamorphoses is an epic poem that explains how different species of animals, plants, and other natural features came to be through stories of transformation. Ovid's version of the story of Narcissus begins with the nymph, Echo, who was known for being extremely talkative. One day, Echo told a story that was so long that Juno missed an opportunity to catch Jove while he flirted with the nymphs. Juno was angry with Echo, so she took away Echo's ability to speak. Instead, Echo could only repeat the words of others. When Echo was out in the woods, she saw Narcissus and was immediately captivated by his beauty. Echo followed Narcissus through the woods, but she could not call out to him. Finally, Narcissus noticed that someone was following him. When he asked, "who is here?" Echo could only answer "here!". Echo tried to embrace Narcissus, but he wanted nothing to do with her. Narcissus's rejection caused Echo, who loved Narcissus, to hide and wallow in her misery. Her love for Narcissus caused her to waste away until only her voice remained. Ovid's story went on to tell how Narcissus fell in love with his reflection in the pool of water. The story of Echo and Narcissus presents explanations for how the Echo and the narcissus flower came to be.

Echo and Narcissus by John William Waterhouse

The myth of Narcissus was very popular in ancient Rome. Artists were so inspired by the tale of Narcissus, who loved his reflection that Pompeii contained nearly fifty paintings of the story. Centuries later, allusions to the Narcissus myth appeared in the Italian writer Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy and Italian poet Petrarch's "Rime 23". The Greek mythology would go on to inspire many Renaissance artists, including the Italian painter Caravaggio.

A painting of Narcissus by Caravaggio

Narcissism and the God of Vanity

Narcissus is sometimes called the god of vanity because he became obsessed with his reflection. The mental disorder narcissism is named after the Greek myth of Narcissus. Narcissism was first identified in 1898. The personality disorder is characterized by:

A constant need for compliments and validation
An overblown sense of one's own accomplishments
A tendency to expect special treatment and favors from others
Lack of empathy for other people
A tendency to dominate conversations
Become fixated on perfection

People diagnosed with narcissistic personality disorder often feel insecure but mask their feelings with self-aggrandizing behavior. People who have narcissistic personality disorder can seek treatment from a therapist who may help the person recognize their tendencies and work on strategies to help them cope.

Lesson Summary

Narcissus is a character from Greek mythology. He is the son of a river god, Cephissus and the nymph Liriope. When Narcissus was young, his mother asked the seer Tiresias if her son would live a long life. Tiresias said that Narcissus would grow to be an older man as long as he never knew himself. Narcissus grew up to be a beautiful young man. Many people fell in love with Narcissus, but he did not return their love. Finally, Narcissus fell in love with his reflection. He became so enamored of his reflection that he eventually died as he gazed into the water. In death, Narcissus's body transformed into a daffodil.

Though many variations of the Narcissus myth exist, the most famous version is Ovid's story. In Ovid's version, Juno took away the nymph Echo's voice because her long-winded stories kept her from catching Juno in the act of flirting with the nymphs. As a result, Echo could only repeat the last part of other people's sentences. When Echo fell in love with Narcissus, he rejected her. In despair, Echo wasted away until only her voice remained.

The story of Narcissus, often called the god of vanity, became a popular subject for artists in ancient Rome and during the Renaissance. Likewise, the name of the personality disorder, narcissism comes from the story of Narcissus. A narcissistic personality disorder is characterized by extreme self-obsession and self-admiration.

Narcissus, as painted by Caravaggio

In Greek Mythology

The story of Narcissus dates back to ancient Greece. It was said that this young man was the son of a nymph named Liriope, and the river deity and personification of the river, Cephissus. Narcissus was raised in Boeotia (a region in central Greece) and grew into an extremely handsome youth. However, he never found anyone he thought was as attractive as he was; he left a string of broken-hearted girls (and a few young men) everywhere he went.

Narcissus' mother was once warned by a seer, Teiresias, that the young man would live a long life, as long as he never got to know himself. The meaning of this was unclear, until one day Narcissus happened to see his own reflection in the water. He had finally found someone he found truly attractive: himself. He tried to kiss the image, but only created a ripple in the water that hid the reflection. Obsessed with his love for his own image, but never able to touch it, he wasted away and eventually died of hunger and thirst. At that spot, a flower bloomed which is now known as the narcissus plant, or the daffodil.

One species of narcissus plants

Obviously, this is not a cheery story. So, what did this Greek tragedy mean? For one, it's worth noting that the ancient Greeks believed seeing one's own reflection to be unlucky. That message is certainly reinforced here. More significantly, however, may be a moral against vanity. In the Greek world, pride and self-obsession detracted from piety and admiration of the gods. Greek mythology is replete with characters whose lack of piety is met with cruel fates, and Narcissus is no exception. Also common in Greek mythology is the tendency to associate moral stories with things in nature. Anyone who saw a narcissus flower would be reminded of the story.

Narcissus in Rome and Beyond

While the story of Narcissus is Greek, it doesn't seem to have been one of their most popular stories. It was actually the ancient Romans who took this story and elaborated it. In fact, the most famous and detailed version of the Narcissus story comes from the Roman poet, Ovid.

In Ovid's version, Narcissus is pursued by the nymph Echo. Echo can only repeat words that are said to her (possibly as a result of a curse Hera placed on her when Echo helped other nymphs seduce Zeus). When Narcissus encounters Echo in the woods, he cruelly spurns her affection. The poor nymph dies of heartbreak, leaving only her voice behind. So, when you hear an echo, it's actually the voice of Echo herself, repeating your own words back to you. In Ovid's version, it's only after this exchange that Narcissus finds his reflection in pool or spring in the woods, falls in love with it, and wastes away.

Roman fresco of Narcissus in Pompeii

The ancient Romans seemed to have really loved this story. In fact, there are roughly 50 murals of Narcissus found in Pompeii alone. This fascination would be re-ignited in the Italian Renaissance, when Narcissus again became a popular subject for painters, such as Caravaggio. In the modern world, we associate the story of Narcissus with the personality disorder of extreme self-obsession and self-admiration, named narcissism after this tragic figure. So, be wary if someone identifies you with Narcissus. It may not be your looks that draw the comparison.

Lesson Summary

Narcissus was a figure in ancient Greek mythology, son of the nymph Liriope and river deity Cephissus. He was exceptionally handsome, but cruel and disinterested in those who sought his affection. Narcissus' mother was warned that he would only live a long life if he never knew himself, a prophecy fulfilled when he saw his own reflection, fell in love with it, and wasted away. The most famous version of this story is actually from the Roman poet, Ovid, in which Narcissus also spurns the advances of the nymph, Echo. Centuries later, psychologists would name a personality disorder after this character, known as narcissism. Narcissus falling in love with his reflection in a pool of water is the ultimate story of unrequited love and self-obsession. Just imagine what would have happened if he could take selfies.

To unlock this lesson you must be a Study. com Member.
Create your account