Nᴀʀᴄɪssᴜs.©

In ancient Greece, on a very distant day, Cefiso, the god of waters, kidnapped the nymph Liriope. They loved each other dearly and from their union a son was born who was named Narcissus. Years passed and Narcissus became a wonderful boy. Liriope wanted to safeguard the beauty of the young man; she therefore went to the astrologer Tiresias who, after consulting the oracle, said to her: - Narcissus will live very long and his beauty will not be dimmed. But the boy will no longer have to see his face. Tiresias' prophecy came true: Narcissus remained an adolescent forever, keeping intact his beauty that awakened the tenderest feelings in the nymphs who approached him. But the beautiful boy escaped the world and love and preferred to spend time walking alone in the forests on his horse or hunting wild animals. A nymph called Echo was very fond of chatting with those she met on the road and that, precisely for this reason, Zeus instructed her to entertain his wife Hera while he devoted himself to his amorous encounters. The goddess Hera, jealous and vindictive, realized the deception that the nymph Echo had hatched against her and punished her by removing the use of the word and condemning her to repeat only the last word that was addressed to her or heard. One day Eco met the beautiful Narcissus and fell madly in love with him. Eco followed him step by step without ever managing to utter a word. His constant and silent presence annoyed Narcissus and to make her understand that it was not pleasing to him, he performed acts that indicated his boredom and impatience. Poor Eco suffered terribly from it; she was crying and tears of pain ran down her cheeks. But Narcissus was not moved and mercilessly shouted at her to leave him in peace. Then furious he strode away and disappeared in the thick shade of the trees. Love and pain consumed Eco little by little, the blood melted in her veins, her face became white as snow and, in short, the body of the splendid girl became transparent to the point that it no longer cast a shadow on the ground. Overwhelmed by grief, she locked herself in a deep cave at the foot of the mountain, where Narcissus used to go hunting. Of the nymph only the bones and voice remained. The bones took the very shape of the rock quarry where his body was curled up and the voice lived eternally in the lonely mountain. It was then that the gods intervened to punish such ingratitude. One day, while the proud young man was bathing in a river, he saw for the first time the image of his face reflected in the clear water. He fell madly in love with her and for this reason he continually returned to the banks of the river to admire that cold figure. But every time he reached out his hand in an attempt to grab it, the surface of the water rippled, swayed, and the image disappeared. One morning, to see her better, he leaned more and more until he lost his balance by falling into the waters, which closed themselves up forever above him. His body was transformed into a yellow flower with an intense scent, which took the name of Narcissus.

Rate this picture:

• Create an Ecard

Short Link to this page:

• Report Bad Content