The Mythology Book

114

See also: The Olympian gods 24–31 ■ Icarus 78–81 ■ King Midas 90

A

fter the nymph Liriope

was raped by the river god

Cephisus, she gave birth

to a son so beautiful that everyone

fell in love with him. Liriope asked

the blind seer Tiresias if her son

Narcissus would live to grow old,

and he answered, “If he does not

come to know himself.”

Unrequited love

When Narcissus was 16, he was

seen by the nymph Echo, who fell in

love with him. Echo could not speak

to Narcissus—as punishment for

aiding Zeus in his extramarital

affairs, she had been cursed by the

goddess Juno to be able only to

repeat the last few words anyone

else had said. She followed

Narcissus into the wild, where

he called, “Is there anybody here?”

Echo replied, “Here.” As she

continued to repeat his words, he

grew more and more impatient.

When Echo came out of the woods

to embrace him, he cried, “Don’t

touch me!” Humiliated, Echo

retreated to a cave and dwindled

away until only her voice was left.

One day, the god Nemesis

decided to avenge the scorned

Echo and led Narcissus to a pool,

where he finally fell in love—with

his own reflection. He reached out,

but could not touch the partner

of his dreams. Burning with an

impossible love, and with one last

“farewell,” he died of sorrow. Echo,

watching, moaned “farewell” back.

Narcissus then transformed into the

flower that now bears his name. ■

I AM ON FIRE

WITH LOVE FOR

MY OWN SELF

NARCISSUS AND ECHO

IN BRIEF

THEME

Self-love

SOURCES

Metamorphoses, Ovid, 8 ce.

SETTING

Mount Helicon, Greece.

KEY FIGURES

Liriope A river nymph, the

mother of Narcissus.

Cephisus A river god, who

raped Liriope and fathered

Narcissus.

Tiresias A seer.

Narcissus Son of Liriope and

Cephisus, who fell in love with

his own beauty.

Echo A mountain nymph,

cursed by Juno to only repeat

the words of others.

Juno Goddess of marriage;

the jealous consort of Jupiter.

Nemesis God of revenge, who

punishes Narcissus.

Echo watches as Narcissus reaches

for his one true love in a 1903 painting

by J. W. Waterhouse. After his death,

Narcissus turns into a daffodil leaning

over the water’s edge.

US_114-115_NarcissusEcho_and_ArachneSpider.indd 114 30/11/17 4:56 pm

115

See also: The Olympian gods 24–31 ■ The many affairs of Zeus 42–47 ■

The founding of Athens 56–57

O

v id’s Metamorphoses

tells the story of a young

woman named Arachne

from Lydia. She was so skilled at

weaving that nymphs used to come

from the sides of Mount Tmolus

and the shores of the River Pactolus

just to watch her work. The nymphs

thought she must have been taught

by Minerva, goddess of weaving,

but Arachne was offended by this

suggestion. Proudly, she challenged

the goddess to a weaving match.

Minerva, equally proud, then

disguised herself as an old woman

and confronted Arachne. While

she applauded Arachne’s skills,

Minerva also suggested that she

should show some humility and

honor the goddess of weaving.

Arachne insulted both the old

woman and Minerva—so the

goddess threw off her disguise and

challenged Arachne to a contest.

The weaving match

Minerva wove a tapestry depicting

the competition between herself

and Neptune to be the protector of

Athens. Arachne wove one showing

the immorality of the gods, with

scenes of the lustful Jupiter and

Neptune deceiving and seducing

their conquests in one disguise

after another. Minerva could find

no fault in Arachne’s work except

its string of insults to the gods, and

so, in a fit of rage, Minerva struck

her repeatedly with a wooden

weaving shuttle. Unable to bear

this torment, Arachne hanged

herself. Minerva then felt guilty

and brought Arachne back to life

as the world’s first spider. ■

ANCIENT ROME

SHE YET SPINS

HER THREAD,

AS A SPIDER

ARACHNE AND MINERVA

Arachne was

not of noble family

but her talent had

made her famous.

Metamorphoses

IN BRIEF

THEME

Challenging the gods

SOURCES

Metamorphoses, Ovid, 8 ce.

SETTING

Lydia, Asia Minor (in modern-

day Turkey).

KEY FIGURES

Arachne A young woman

from Lydia, a skilled weaver,

with little respect for the Greek

gods and their actions.

Nymphs Beautiful female

spirits associated with the

natural world.

Minerva The goddess of

wisdom, medicine, and the

arts, including weaving

and other handicrafts.

Neptune The god of the sea,

who had a violent temper.

Jupiter King of the gods;

brother of Neptune.

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