Part 2- Mythological Allusions: Echo and Narcissus

Echo and Narcissus    Mythological Allusion  Source: Edith Hamilton's Mythology

• Echo falls in love with Narcissus, but can only rely on hearing and speaking, not sight
• Narcissus gets lost and calls out for help and Echo responds
• After talking, Echo goes to introduce herself to Narcissus and he is not attracted to her at all
• Echo leaves crying and depressed that her body deteriorates and all that is left is her voice
• Narcissus goes to drink from the pond and falls in love with his reflection
• He dies because he is too caught up in himself; all that is left behind is a Narcissus flower by the pond

Commentary: This myth has a lot to deal with self obsession and falling for something that is not real but you so badly want it to be. This concept is shown when Harry Potter stumbles upon the Mirror of Erised. The Mirror of Erised shows him was is not real, his parents, but he wants it to be so bad that he spends countless nights without sleep just watching the mirror.