Narcissus

the Self
Lover
Greek mythology
History of the word
Narcissistic

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Table of Contents
Narcissus the Self Lover
...................................................1
Orientation .........................3
Complication .....................4
Resolution ...........................6
Re-orientation ..................7

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 Narcissus the Self
Lover

Orientation
A long time ago, lived a
man named Narcissus.
Narcissus was born in
Thespiae in Boeotia, the
son of Cephissus (the
personi cation of the
Boeotian river of the same
name) and the nymph
Liriope. He was a hunter in
Greek mythology. His
mother was warned one

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day by the seer Teiresias
that her son would live a
long life as long as 'he
never knows himself ’.

Complication
As he reached his
teenage years, the
handsome youth never
found anyone that could
pull his heartstrings,
indeed, he left in his wake a
long trail of distressed and
broken-hearted maidens,
and one or two young men
fell by the wayside too.

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 One day, while he was
hunting in the woods, the
Oread nymph Echo
spotted him and
immediately fell for him.
When Narcissus sensed
that someone was
following him, Echo
eventually revealed herself
and tried to hug him.
However, he pushed her o
and told her not to disturb
him. Echo, in despair,
roamed around the woods
for the rest of her life and
wilted away until all it

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remained of her was an
echo sound.

Resolution
Nemesis, the goddess of
retribution and revenge,
learned what had
happened and decided to
punish Narcissus for his
behavior. She led him to a
pool; there, the man saw
his re ection in the water
and, thus, discovered the
ultimate in unrequited love
and fell in love with
himself. Naturally, this
one-way relationship went

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nowhere, and Narcissus,
unable to draw himself
away from the pool, pined
away in despair until he
nally died of thirst and
starvation. According to
legend, he turned into the
ower that bears his name,
the narcissus.

Re-orientation
Although the story of
Narcissus is often seen as a
warning against excessive
vanity, there is a lesson to
be learned from it as well.
Namely, we should be

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careful not to become too
absorbed in our image and
lose sight of the things that
truly matter.