Narcissus was a beautiful and strong boy. He used to spend his days hunting and riding in the woods. One day he saw Echo, a mountain nymph. Echo fell in love with the young man and came out of her hiding place to declare her feelings to him. Narcissus, however, rejected her rudely: he was too beautiful to waste his time with a nymph.

From that day on, heartbroken, Echo continued to follow Narcissus wherever he went. The nymph was consumed by her love for Narcissus and by her pain at being rejected. Her body became transparent and she shut herself up in a cave in the heart of the mountain, singing for Narcissus. Thus, Echo vanished! Only a handful of bones and her voice remained. Echo’s voice is still there now, and responds to those who call out while crossing the mountains, in the hope that one day Narcissus will also respond. Over time, however, she has become increasingly weak and today she can only repeat the last syllables of the words of the travellers.

Narcissus, on the other hand, continued his life. The gods, after seeing how selfish and indifferent he was, decided to punish him. One day, Narcissus was hunting when he saw a crystalline little lake among the vegetation. The young man dismounted from his horse and went over to the lake. There he saw his face, reflected in the water: it was so beautiful that Narcissus fell in love with his reflected image. From that moment on, he went every morning to visit himself reflected in the little lake, convinced that he saw some deity of the waters. One day he stretched out over the water to caress that face and lost his balance, falling into the water. The lake closed over him and Narcissus never emerged again. On the shore sprouted a beautiful yellow flower, with an intense scent, which in memory of that selfish young man took the name of Narcissus.

The “Metamorphoses” is an epic-mythological poem by Publius Ovidius Naso (43 BC – 17 AD). This poem focused on the phenomenon of metamorphosis (the possibility of changing physical shape). The “Metamorphoses” was composed of fifteen books in which Ovid collected tales from Greek and Roman mythology, including the story of Echo and Narcissus.

Myths perhaps arose from the need to provide an answer to universal human questions, questions about the mysteries of the cosmos and of life. Myths often embody natural phenomena, tell of historical events, and describe states of mind in terms of concrete and palpable figures that mirror the human condition. Thanks to Ovid we know many of them, too.