Writing Entry: Echo & Narcissus (Retelling) ✍️ by Ashanti ? read inside! (author note & citation) Echo, the mountain nymph. She once was very lively and possessed a voice full of life, that she was very proud of and cherished it. Her passion to speak and share stories kept the forests alive. However, her eloquent speech led to her doom. According to the Ovid's Metamorphoses, Echo had successfully captivated the goddess Hera by filling her ears with irrelevant talk while her husband Zeus eluded from his many many flirts. Upon discovering this fraud, Hera was very outraged and stripped Echo of her free will, binding her to forever repeat the last words heard. Humbled and silenced, by a nymph.... Echo wandered through the mountains and the woods, where her thoughts, and her longing can only be heard as the repetition of the words heard by the nymph herself, and her physical form will eventually become more sound than substance. Her image then is an echo between the trees, the caves and the emptiness of open space. One day while quietly passing through the empty woods, Echo catches the sight of a young man. He was called Narcissus. Narcissus was famous among the people, who loved his amazing beauty and his many admirers could only gaze at the statue of his perfection, never once making his way towards those who cherished him. He showed no concern towards them, no kindness, and no emotion in the relationships between humans. He showed the same pride and callous indifference throughout the world and it was seen as the beginning of a disorder in nature, between the pride of a god-like being and a humble individual. This of course, attracted the attention of the gods, and namely that of Nemesis. Upon spotting the young Narcissus, Echo instantly became enamoured, yet her voice failed her; she only could love the young man from the silent shadows of the woods while chasing his disappearing shadow of a physical appearance through the trees. At some point Narcissus discovered Echo in the woods and asked "Is anybody here?". "Here...here..." Narcissus found this voice mysterious. Echo then appeared from behind the trees, trying to show him fully, hoping he could love her. However, he rejected her, with utter indifference and continued on his walk. From then on, she could never forgive this behavior, and her heart could no longer accept this agony. She hid in a cave and faded until she was nothing but the echoes heard in the mountains and the forests, as all her sound was now embodied by the sound of other people's speech. However, Narcissus did not lead a peaceful life either. For his incapability to love was punished by Nemesis, who enticed him towards a pool of water, and when the young man leaned forward he saw a beautiful face that he knew he could never abandon, since it was impossible to do so, as the reflection was himself and only when Narcissus died would his longing be released from this painful prison, which happened by the edges of the pool when Narcissus gave up and died; a flower sprouted in the place of Narcissus.
