Narcissus

Well, here is a myth about a person whose beauty intoxicated and killed him. Narcissus is a character in Greek mythology who was known for his beauty. The characters of this myth include :

His father- river God Cephissus
His mother- the nymph Liriope
Echo- a mountain nymph
Nemesis- goddess of punishment and revenge.
Everyone were really fond of Narcissus as his beauty attracted them. They desired him but he didn't pay any heed to them. He disrespected and scorned everyone. Everyone were prone to disdain from Narcissus who was inane. Many committed suicide as they were struck by his beauty and all they experienced was disappointment. That's how the name "Narcissus" came from which means, fixed upon one person.

When he was in the woods hunting a fine day, he was found by a mountain (Oread) nymph. As soon as Echo spotted him, she fell in love with him.

Narcissus had a hunch that someone was behind, following him. When he turned, he found the nymph standing there.

He didn't like the way she looked at him. Echo was filled with love for him as when she went towards him to put her arms around him, he hesitated and moved back and pushed her away from him and told her he wasn't interested in her and not to talk and disturb him at all. After encountering this shocking response from him, she became down with sorrow and grief and left.

She felt hurt and despair and kept roaming around the woods pondering over the hurtful words and Gesture that Narcissus showed her. As days went, overflowed with sorrow, deeply rooted in his disinterest, she dryed out, dropped in pain and withered away leaving behind only an Echo sound.

This was carefully watched by Nemesis- the goddess of vengeance. After she understood what was going on, she wanted him to taste revenge for hurting her. She directed him to a pool during summer when he was thirsty. When Narcissus approached the pool, he noticed his reflection on it and gazed upon it.

He was astounded by its beauty, not realizing it was his. He fell in love for it as if it was another person. When he realized it was his, he was sad and thought that his beauty cannot be actually real or can exist for him to desire. At this thought, he committed suicide.

Another version says, when he was shocked by his image, he came with realization that his love cannot be responded the same way in return and....he was liquiefied by the passion that burnt within him and gradually turned into a gold and yellow flower.

In psychological perspective, there is a disorder pertaining to this- Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) - experiences of abnormal behavior in the long run. They start having emotions of Grandiosity, admiration and no feelings for others. They are always focussed on the goal of acquiring power taking advantage of everyone. This disorder starts from early adulthood and the cause is unknown. As the people who have this disorder do not admit that they are abnormal, treatment is very difficult. The frequency percentage is 1 occurring more frequently in men and especially in young people. In culture, this disorder is referred to as Delusion of Grandeur.

-Hope u guys have encountered a new and interesting topic-