Narcissus

Portrayed by: Michael Golino

Narcissus was a hunter and the son of the river god Cephissus and wood nymph Liriope. Renowned for his beauty, Narcissus was very vain and scorned all who fell in love with him. One was a wood nymph named Echo, cursed by Hera to repeat the last thing anyone near her ever said after Echo tried to hide Zeus' lechery with other wood nymphs from the Queen Goddess. She tried to confess her love to Narcissus, but he coldly shunned her. Her heartbreak was so strong that she retreated to the lonely mountains, withering away until only her voice remains. The goddess of revenge Nemesis heard of this story and punished Narcissus by having him fall in love with his own reflection in a pool of water. Entranced and in love with himself, Narcissus refused to move from the pool, even for food and drink. He eventually died of thirst by the pool. The gods then changed his body into that of a small, white flower, then dubbed a narcissus blossom. This is why you often see them growing near bodies of water, as though Narcissus is still admiring his reflection, even as a flower (March, 2009).

Alternate Ending
In some endings of the myth, instead of dying of starvation or thirst, Narcissus realizes that he has fallen in love with his own reflection. Anguished that he has fallen in love with something he cannot have, he kills himself by the edge of the water (Davis, 2005).

In Metamorphoses
In the play Metamorphoses by Mary Zimmerman, Narcissus' story is briefly featured as an interlude before the story of Vertumnus and Pomona. According to the published script, the story of Narcissus is performed by three performers after the story of Orpheus concludes. Two performers come on stage, cleaning the deck. One performer (Narcissus) catches sight of his reflection of the pool, kneels down to it, and becomes frozen in place. The other performer, annoyed at the sudden paralysis of her partner, calls for a third performer to help. The third performer enters, carrying a potted narcissus flower. The paralyzed Narcissus is then carried off stage by the other two performers with the flower being left in the spot where he knelt by the pool. He is portrayed by the Fourth Man (Zimmerman, 2002).

Reference
Davis, Kenneth C. "The Greek Miracle." Don't Know Much about Mythology: Everything You Need to Know about the Greatest Stories in Human History but Never Learned. New York: HarperCollins, 2005. 241. Print.

March, Jennifer R. "Narcissus." The Penguin Book of Classical Myths. London: Penguin, 2009. N. pag. Print.

Zimmerman, Mary, David R. Slavitt, and Ovid. Metamorphoses: A Play. Evanston, IL: Northwestern UP, 2002. Print.