Narcissus (mythology) - Wikipedia

Character in Greek mythology For other uses, see Narcissus.

Narcissus
Narcissus, fresco from the House of M. Lucretius Fronto at Pompeii
Abode	Thespiae
Symbol	Daffodil
Parents	Cephissus and Liriope orEndymion and Selene

In Greek mythology, Narcissus (/nɑːrˈsɪsəs/; Ancient Greek: Νάρκισσος, romanized: Nárkissos) is a hunter from Thespiae in Boeotia (alternatively Mimas or modern-day Karaburun, İzmir), known for his beauty which was noticed by all. According to the best-known version of the story in Ovid's Metamorphoses, Narcissus rejected the advances of all women and men who approached him, instead falling in love with his own reflection in a pool of water.[1] In some versions, he beat his breast purple in agony at being kept apart from this reflected love, and according to Ovid turned into a flower bearing his name.

The character of Narcissus is the origin of the term narcissism, a self-centered personality style. This quality in extreme contributes to the definition of narcissistic personality disorder, a psychiatric condition marked by grandiosity, excessive need for attention and admiration, and an impaired ability to empathize.

Etymology

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In his Etymological Dictionary of Greek, R. S. P. Beekes says that "[t]he suffix [-ισσος] clearly points to a Pre-Greek word."[2]

Family

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In some versions, Narcissus was the son of the river god Cephissus and nymph Liriope,[3] while Nonnus instead has him as the son of the lunar goddess Selene and her mortal lover Endymion.[4]

Mythology

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Several versions of the myth have survived from ancient sources, one from Pausanias, the Greek traveler and geographer of the second century AD, and a more popular one from Ovid, published before 8 AD, found in Book 3 of his Metamorphoses. This is the story of Echo and Narcissus. In Ovid's narrative, the framing revolves around a test of the prophetic abilities of Tiresias, an individual who has experienced life as both a man and a woman. His sight was taken from him during a dispute between Juno and Jove; siding with Jove led to his blinding by an enraged Juno. In compensation for his lost sight, Jove granted him the gift of prophecy. The prophecy that solidified Tiresias's reputation is the tale of Echo and Narcissus.

Ovid

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After being "ravaged" by the river god Cephissus, the nymph Liriope gave birth to Narcissus, who was "beautiful even as a child." As was the custom, she consulted the seer Tiresias about the boy's future, who predicted that the boy would live a long life only if he never "came to know himself". During his 16th year, after getting lost while hunting with friends, Narcissus came to be followed by a nymph, Echo.

Echo was an Oread (mountain nymph) and, like Tiresias, had a sensory ability altered after an argument between Juno and Jove. Echo had kept Juno occupied with gossip while Jove had an affair behind her back. In another similar version by Ovid, Echo kept the goddess Juno occupied with stories while Zeus's lovers escaped Mount Olympus.[5] As a punishment, Juno took from Echo her agency in speech; Echo was thereafter never able to speak unless it was to repeat the last few words of those she heard.[6] Echo had deceived using gossip; she would be condemned to be only that from then on.

Meanwhile, Echo spied Narcissus, separated from his hunting friends, and she became immediately infatuated, following him, waiting for him to speak so her feelings might be heard. Narcissus sensed he was being followed and shouted "Who's there?" Echo repeated, "Who's there?" While this interaction continued, Echo came close enough so that she was revealed, and attempted to embrace him.[7] Horrified, he stepped back and told her to "keep her chains". Heartbroken, Echo wasted away, losing her body amidst lonely glens, until nothing of her but her chaste verbal ability remained.

Nemesis, the goddess of revenge, heard the pleas of a young man, Ameinias, who had fallen for Narcissus but was ignored and cursed him; Nemesis listened, proclaiming that Narcissus would never be able to be loved by the one he fell in love with.

After spurning Echo and the young man, Narcissus became thirsty. He found a pool of water which, in Ovid's account, no animal had ever approached. Leaning down to drink, Narcissus sees his reflection, which he finds as beautiful as a marble statue. Not realizing it was his own reflection, Narcissus fell deeply in love with it. Thus both Tiresias's prophecy and Nemesis' curse came true in the same instance.[8][a][b] Unable to leave the allure of this image, Narcissus eventually realized that his love could not be reciprocated and he melted away from the fire of passion burning inside him, eventually turning into a gold and white flower.[9][10]

Versions without Echo

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Ovid was probably influenced by an earlier version ascribed to the captive Greek poet Parthenius of Nicaea, composed around 50 BC and rediscovered in 2004 by Dr Benjamin Henry among the Oxyrhynchus papyri at Oxford.[11][12] This version is very concise and makes no mention of Echo.[11]

He had a cruel heart, and hated all of them, till he conceived a love for his own form: He wailed, seeing his face, delightful as a dream, within a spring; he wept for his beauty. Then the boy shed his blood and gave it to the earth... to bear.

A version of the myth by Conon, a contemporary of Ovid, has an even bloodier ending (Narrations, 24), relating how a young man named Ameinias fell in love with Narcissus, who had already spurned his suitors, all of whom were male.[11] Although Ameinias was very persistent, Narcissus spurned him too and gave him a sword, which Ameinias used to kill himself at Narcissus's doorstep after praying to the gods to teach Narcissus a lesson for all the pain he provoked. Narcissus walked by a pool of water and decided to drink some. He saw his reflection, became entranced by it, his first and only love, and killed himself because he could not have his object of desire. Because of this tragedy, the Thespians came to honor and reverence Eros especially among the gods.[13][9]

A century later the travel writer Pausanias recorded a novel variant of the story, in which Narcissus falls in love with his twin sister rather than himself.[14][15]

In all versions, his body disappears and all that is left is a narcissus flower.

Interpretation

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Comparative ancient interpretations

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Miyawaki outlines several major ancient versions of the Narcissus myth, each emphasizing different themes. In Ovid’s account, the myth centers on illusion, self-recognition, and the tragedy of unfulfilled desire. Conon’s version includes the rejected suitor Ameinias and frames the story as a moralized tale about cruelty and punishment. Pausanias presents a more psychologically grounded narrative in which Narcissus mourns his deceased twin sister, interpreting the story as an expression of grief rather than self-love.[16]

Psychological interpretations

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Modern psychoanalytic scholarship has challenged Freud’s reading of the myth. Javanbakht argues that Narcissus exhibits a conflicted pattern of withdrawal and longing more consistent with schizoid–histrionic dynamics than narcissistic personality disorder. He also notes that Narcissus initially fails to recognize the reflection and that his fixation is a punishment imposed by Nemesis, not an inherent trait.[17]

Influence on culture

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The myth of Narcissus has inspired artists for at least two thousand years, even before the Roman poet Ovid featured a version in book III of his Metamorphoses. This was followed in more recent centuries by other poets (e.g. Keats and Alfred Edward Housman) and painters (Caravaggio, Poussin, Turner, Dalí (see Metamorphosis of Narcissus), and Waterhouse).

Literature

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The myth had a decided influence on English Victorian homoerotic culture, via André Gide's study of the myth, Le Traité du Narcisse ('The Treatise of the Narcissus', 1891). Oscar Wilde also used the myth within his works. One of his poems from 1894, The Disciple[18],continues the story of Narcissus after his death,

`We do not wonder that you should mourn in this manner for Narcissus, so beautiful was he.' `But was Narcissus beautiful?' said the pool.

— The Oreads and the pool Narcissus gazed in, in Oscar Wilde, The Disciple, Poems in Prose

Before this Wilde published The Picture of Dorian Gray in 1890, and used Narcissus as an example of beauty multiple times. In Chapter 1, Lord Henry used the myth to describe the beauty of the man Basil (the protagonist) had painted. Basil explained to Lord Henry he did not want to part with his work because he had put much of himself into it.[19]

...and this young Adonis, who looks as if he was made out of ivory and rose-leaves. Why, my dear Basil, he is a Narcissus, and you—well...

— Lord Henry, in Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Chapter 1

Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist also starts with a story about Narcissus, found (we are told) by the alchemist in a book brought by someone in the caravan. The alchemist's (and Coelho's) source was very probably Hesketh Pearson's The Life of Oscar Wilde (1946) in which this story is recorded (Penguin edition, p. 217) as one of Wilde's inspired inventions. This version of the Narcissus story is based on Wilde's "The Disciple" from his "Poems in Prose (Wilde) ".

Seamus Heaney references Narcissus in his poem "Personal Helicon"[20] from his first collection "Death of a Naturalist":

To stare, big-eyed Narcissus, into some spring Is beneath all adult dignity.

Petrarchan poetry, often in the form of a Petrarchan sonnet, has been profoundly impacted by the myth of Narcissus. Most notably, Petrarch's Sonnet 45 contains themes and motifs inspired by the myth of Narcissus when the love interest, Laura, loves her reflection more than the narrator.[21]

Music

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• In Gilbert and Sullivan's opera Patience, the idyllic poet Archibald Grosvenor calls himself "a very Narcissus" after gazing at his own reflection.[22]
• Composer Nikolai Tcherepnin wrote his ballet "Narcisse et Echo, Op. 40" in 1911 for Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes and was danced by Nijinski.
• The fifth of Benjamin Britten's Six Metamorphoses after Ovid for solo oboe (1951) is titled "Narcissus", "who fell in love with his own image and became a flower".

Visual art

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Narcissus has been a subject for many painters such as Caravaggio, Poussin, Turner, Dalí, Waterhouse, Carpioni, Lagrenée, and Roos.

• Narciso, Jan Cossiers
• Liriope Bringing Narcissus before Tiresias, Giulio Carpioni
• Narkisos, Magnus Enckell
• Narcissus by Caravaggio
• Narcissus, follower of Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio

Sculptors such as Paul Dubois, John Gibson, Henri-Léon Gréber, Benvenuto Cellini and Hubert Netzer have sculpted Narcissus.[23]

• Narcisse, Paul Dubois
• Narcissus, John Gibson
• Narziss, Hubert Netzer
• Narcissus, possibly Valerio Cioli
• Narcisse, Henri-Léon Gréber
• Narcisse, Benvenuto Cellini
• Narcisse, Gabriel Grupello and Albert Desenfans

Footnotes

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1. ^ Narcissus is in danger when he sees the image but not, because of that, lost. He is lost when he recognizes himself in the image. It is not until then that death becomes the only possible solution. Narcissus dies when he loses the illusion but cannot escape from the feeling that it has aroused; he dies when there is no hope left that the passion can be satisfied. — Vinge (1967a)[8]
2. ^ Finally, Narcissus realises that he has an insoluble problem and gives it a concise formulation: [Ovid writes] "Quod cupio, mecum est: Inopem me copia fecit." [Translation: "What I desire is with me: Abundance made me destitute."] At this point [continues Vinge] Schickel makes an important comment: "Er durchschaut wen er im Wasser vor sich hat; weder liebt er sein Spiegelbild, wie ein Leser dem andern nachirrt, noch treibt er 'Narzissmus,' wie man seit Freud missversteht." [Translation: "He sees through who he has in front of him in the water; he neither loves his reflection, like one reader follows another, nor does he practice 'narcissism', as has been misunderstood since Freud"]49. — Vinge (1967a)[8]

See also

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• Egocentrism

References

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1. ^ Ovid, Metamorphoses. 3.377-434
2. ^ R. S. P. Beekes, Etymological Dictionary of Greek, Brill, 2009, p. 997.
3. ^ "The myth of Narcissus". 2 August 2009.
4. ^ Nonnus, Dionysiaca 48.581 ff.
5. ^ Cartwright, Mark (5 March 2023). "Narcissus". World History Encyclopedia.
6. ^ Stone, Greg (2016). "The Myth of Narcissus as a Surreptitious Allegory about Creativity". Philosophy and Literature. 40 (1): 273–284. doi:10.1353/phl.2016.0021. ISSN 1086-329X.
7. ^ Bergmann, Martin S. (1984). "The Legend of Narcissus". American Imago. 41 (4): 389–411. ISSN 0065-860X. JSTOR 26303609.
8. ^ a b c Vinge, Louise (1967a). "The Narcissus Myth in Western Literature up until the Early 19th Century". litteraturbanken.se. Gleerups.
9. ^ a b "The myth of Narcissus".
10. ^ Tzetzes, John. "Chiliades, 1.9". lines 235–238.
11. ^ a b c Henry, W. B. "New Light on the Narcissus Myth". The Oxyrhynchus Papyri, Oxford University. Archived from the original on 15 January 2025. Retrieved 26 February 2025.
12. ^ Keys, David (May 2004). "Ancient manuscript sheds new light on an enduring myth". BBC History Magazine. Vol. 5, no. 5. p. 9. Archived from the original on 24 November 2010. Retrieved 26 February 2025 – via Papyrology / University of Oxford.
13. ^ "ToposText". topostext.org. Archived from the original on 22 March 2019. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
14. ^ "ToposText". topostext.org. Retrieved 1 August 2025.
15. ^ Jacoby, Mario (1991). Individuation and Narcissism: The psychology of self in Jung and Kohut (1st ed.). Routledge. ISBN 978-0415064644.
16. ^ Miyawaki, Edison. “Narcissus.” In What to Read on Love, Not Sex: Freud, Fiction, and the Articulation of Truth in Modern Psychological Science, University of California Health Humanities Press, 2012, 65–83.
17. ^ Javanbakht, Arash. “Was the Myth of Narcissus Misinterpreted by Freud? Narcissus, a Model for Schizoid–Histrionic, Not Narcissistic, Personality Disorder.” American Journal of Psychoanalysis 66, no. 1 (2006): 63–79.
18. ^ Wilde, Oscar (1894). "Poems in Prose/The Disciple". Wikisource (Full poem available for free.). Q91306633. Archived from the original on 7 February 2021. Retrieved 4 August 2025.
19. ^ Wilde, Oscar (1891). "The Picture of Dorian Gray". Wikisource (Full free text available.) (1st ed.). Q69637774. Archived from the original on 12 February 2025. Retrieved 4 August 2025.
20. ^ Cf. Ibiblio, Internet Poetry Archive: Text of the Poem Personal Helicon
21. ^ Archdeacon, Anthony (2018). "The Influence of Ovid's Echo and Narcissus Myth on English Petrarchan Poetry". Early Modern Literary Studies. 20 (1): 1–29. ProQuest 2135049025.
22. ^ Glinert, Ed, ed. (2006). The Complete Gilbert and Sullivan. Penguin Books. p. 237. ISBN 978-0-713-99860-3.
23. ^ "Paul Dubois, Narcisse, Orsay". Archived from the original on 1 May 2018. Retrieved 23 May 2016.

Modern sources

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• Gantz, T. (1993). Early Greek Myth. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.
• Kerényi, K. (1959). The Heroes of the Greeks. New York, NY / London, UK: Thames and Hudson.
• Vinge, Louise (1967). The Narcissus Theme in Western Literature up to the Early 19th Century.
• Calimach, A. (2001). Lovers' Legends: The gay Greek myths. New Rochelle, NY: Haiduk Press. ISBN 9780971468603. On-line version
• Alexander, M. (2012). Narcissus. available online

External links

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• "Images of Narcissus". Iconographic Database. The Warburg Institute.
• Media related to Narcissus (mythology) at Wikimedia Commons
• Henry, W. B. (n.d.). "New light on the Narcissus myth (P.Oxy. LXIX 4711)". Articles. Papyrology. Oxford, UK: University of Oxford.

v t e Narcissism
Similar personality concepts	Egomania Egotism God complex Grandiosity Healthy narcissism Hubris Messiah complex Superiority complex
In society	Collective narcissism In the workplace Leadership Me generation Narcissus (mythology) Parents
Pathological narcissism	Narcissistic personality disorder history Malignant narcissism Narcissistic Personality Inventory
Phenomena	Narcissistic injury neurosis elation mortification supply withdrawal defences
Related psychology concepts	Compensation Dark triad Empathy Entitlement Grandiosity Manipulation (psychology) Selfishness
Category

v t e Metamorphoses in Greek mythology
Animals	Avian Acanthis Acanthus Aëdon Aegolius Aegypius Aëtos Aesacus Agrius and Oreius Agron Alcander Alcyone Alcyone and Ceyx Alcyonides Alectryon Anthus Antigone Argus Arne Sithonis Artemiche Ascalaphus Asteria Autonous Botres Bulis Byssa Caeneus Celeus Cerberus Chelidon Cinyras Clinis Combe Corone Ctesylla Cycnus I Cycnus II Cycnus III Cycnus IV Daedalion Diomedes' companions Abas Acmon Idas Lycus Nycteus Rhexenor Erinoma Erodius Eumelus Gerana Harmothoë Harpalyce Harpasus Harpe Hierax Hippodamia Hyperippe Hyria Ictinus Ino Itys Iynx Laius Lelante Lycius Megaletor Meleagrids Memnonides Meropis Merops Minyades Munichus Neophron Nisus Nyctaea Nyctimene Oenoe Oenotropae Ortygius Pandareus Pelia Perdix Periphas Peristera Picus Pierides Phene Philaeus Philomela Pleiades Polyphonte Polytechnus Procne Schoeneus Scylla Tereus Timandra Non-avian Abas Actaeon Arachne Arcas Arge Aristaeus Ascalabus Atalanta Cadmus Calchus Callisto Cephissus Cerambus Cercopes Chelone Circe Curetes Cynosura Galanthis Gale Harmonia Hecuba Helice Hippomenes Io Lycaon Lycian peasants Lyncus Megisto Melanippe Melian nymphs Melissa Minyades Myia Myrmex Naïs Nerites Ocyrhoe Odysseus Pentheus Phalanx Phineus Phoenice Pompilus Taygete Themisto Theophane Tiresias Titanis Tithonus Tyrrhenian pirates Aethalides Alcimedon Dictys Epopeus Melas Medon Opheltes
Base appearance	Achilles Antigone Charybdis Lamia Medusa Midas Mulberry fruit Phaon Scylla Sirens White raven
Humanoids	Arne Calliste Cymodoce Cephalus' wife Galatea Leleges Myrmidons Nephele Spartoi Weasel
Inanimate objects	Aconteus Aglaurus Alcmene Anaxarete Ariadne Arsinoë Aspalis Battus Britomartis Calydon Cercopes Cragaleus Daphnis Gorgo Iodame Laelaps Lethaea Lyco and Orphe Olenus Pallas Pandareus Phineus Polydectes Proetus Propoetides Pyrrhus Teumessian fox Wolf
Landforms	Achelous Acheron Acis Aea Alope Alpheus Arethusa I Arethusa II Asteria Atlas Aura Byblis Calliste Chione Cleite Comaetho Cyane Dirce Haemus Lichas Lilaeus Manto Marsyas Menippe and Metioche Niobe Perimele Pirene Pyramus and Thisbe Rhodope Rhodopis Sangas Selemnus Sybaris
Opposite sex	Caeneus Hermaphroditus Iphis Leucippus Salmacis Siproites Sithon Tiresias
Plants	Adonis Agdistis Ajax Amaracus Ambrosia Ampelus Anethus Attis Baucis and Philemon Calamus Carpus Carya Cissus Clytie Crocus Cyparissus Daphne Diopatra Dryope Elaea Elate Eteocleides Heliades Aegle Dioxippe Lampetia Merope Phaethusa Phoebe Hesperides Aegle Erytheia Hyacinthus Leuce Leucothoe Libanus Lotis Lycurgus Mecon Melos Messapians Milk Minthe Myrice Myrina Myrsine Narcissus Oechalides Philyra Phyllis Picolous Pitys Platanus Psalacantha Saliva Side Smilax Smyrna Spear Syceus Syrinx
Voluntary	Kobalos Mestra Periclymenus
Other	Cumaean Sibyl Echo Hyades Hylas Milk of Hera Pleiades
False myths	Acantha Amethyste Orchis Rhodanthe
Metamorphoses

v t e Echo and Narcissus from Ovid's Metamorphoses
Characters	Echo Narcissus
Operas	Amor d'un'ombra e gelosia d'un'aura (1714) Écho et Narcisse (1779)
Art	Narcissus at the Fountain (Boltraffio, 1500–10) Narcissus (Boltraffio follower, 1500) Narcissus (Caravaggio, 1597–99) Echo and Narcissus (Poussin, 1627–28) Narcissus (Lemoyne, 1728) Echo and Narcissus (Waterhouse, 1903) Metamorphosis of Narcissus (Dali, 1937)
Film	Narcissus (1983 film) Narcissus (2012 film)
Music	Narcissus (1891)
Related	Narcissism

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