On Narcissus



Today I wanna talk about the story of Echo and Narcissus. I’m not usually into Greek mythology, but I found this story to be quite interesting. Echo was a talkative lady of the woods that was cursed by jealous queen Hera because she thought Echo was  sleeping with Zeus, the god of the sky, lightning and thunder. 
The curse was such that Echo would never be able to speak of her own volition again, but would only be able to repeat whatever is being spoken to her. 

Narcissus is described in mythology as a beautiful, very good looking young man. One day, he was hunting in the woods and was separated from his hunting mates. He heard some rustling in the woods. 

“Who’s here” he said
“Here” she replied

As he laid his eyes on her, he was smitten by her beauty

“Let us join one another” he said
“Join one another” she replied

The girl answered with all her heart. She fell in love with Narcissus and was about to throw herself into his arms. However at that moment, he decided that he’d rather die than sleep with a woman of the woods. Narcissus was proud, in that he despised those who loved him. 

Echo, heartbroken, ran into the cave and hid in shame. She didn’t eat or drink. She spent her final days pining for Narcissus. She eventually died of starvation, withering into dust, and leaving nothing but her voice in the cave. 

Later, goddess of revenge Nemesis punished Narcisuss by causing him to fall in love with his own reflection, which he saw in a pool. He later killed himself because he could not have the object of his desire. 

The dynamic of narcissism and echoism has been explored extensively in psychology. 

Echoists are often regarded as warm hearted, kind, easy going, and giving. They are also afraid of being a burden; they feel unsettled by attention; and are at a loss when asked about they’re preferences and desires. Like echo, who was cursed to repeat back the last few words she hears, echoists struggle to find a voice of their own. They diminish their own desires and needs in the hopes of acceptance by the other. 

Individuals with narcissistic and echoistic tendencies are often drawn to one another because they provide psychological needs. 
The narcissistic need for attention, affection, and adoration; coupled with the echoistic need for structure, charisma and self assuredness. 

This may be healthy in some areas or grossly disastrous in others

This is not to diagnose or box anyone into self imposed labels or categories, but to encourage reflection and self examination. 

Nosce te ipsum

If you have narcissistic tendencies, maybe you need to love something other than yourself, or see the world from someone else’s perspective. 

If you have echoistic tendencies, maybe you need to find your own voice, and not always accept the perspective of others over yours.


This has been another episode of the Nomad show. I hope you enjoyed it. 

For show notes, visit thenomadshow.com, follow us on twitter @nomadshowtweets

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