Көне грек тау нимфасы Эхоның трагедиясы

Ancient Greek mountain nymph

In Greek mythology, Echo ('/ɛ//k//oʊ/; Ἠχώ, Ēkhō, "echo", from ἦχος (ēchos), "sound") was an Oread who resided on Mount Cithaeron. Zeus loved consorting with beautiful nymphs and often visited them on Earth. Eventually, Zeus's wife, Hera, became suspicious, and came from Mount Olympus in an attempt to catch Zeus with the nymphs. Echo, by trying to protect Zeus (as he had ordered her to do), endured Hera's wrath, and Hera made her only able to speak the last words spoken to her. So when Echo met Narcissus and fell in love with him, she was unable to tell him how she felt and was forced to watch him as he fell in love with himself.

In Metamorphoses (8 AD), the poet Ovid tells of Juno (Hera in Greek mythology) and the jealousy she felt over her husband Jupiter's (Zeus in Greek mythology) many affairs. Though vigilant, whenever she was about to catch him, Echo distracted her with lengthy conversations. When at last Juno realized the truth, she cursed Echo. From that moment on, the once loquacious nymph could only repeat the most recently spoken words of another person. Sometime after being cursed, Echo spied a young man, Narcissus, while he was out hunting deer with his companions. She immediately fell in love with him and, infatuated, followed quietly. The more she looked at the young man, the more she longed for him. Though she wished with all her heart to call out to Narcissus, Juno's curse prevented her. During the hunt, Narcissus became separated from his companions and called out, ‘is anyone there,’ and heard the nymph repeat his words. Startled, Narcissus answered the voice, ‘come here,’ only to be told the same. When Narcissus saw that nobody had emerged from the glade, he concluded that the owner of the voice must be running away from him and called out again. Finally, he shouted, "This way, we must come together." Taking this to be a reciprocation of her love, Echo concurred ecstatically, "We must come together!" In her delight, Echo rushed to Narcissus ready to throw her arms around her beloved. Narcissus, however, was appalled and, spurning her, exclaimed, ‘Hands off! May I die before you enjoy my body.’ All Echo could whisper in reply was, ‘enjoy my body’ and having done so she fled, scorned, humiliated, and shamed. Despite the harshness of his rejection, Echo's love for Narcissus only grew. When Narcissus died, wasting away before his own reflection, consumed by a love that could not be, Echo mourned over his body. When Narcissus, looking one last time into the pool uttered, "Oh marvellous boy, I loved you in vain, farewell", Echo too chorused, "Farewell." Eventually, Echo, too, began to waste away. Her beauty faded, her skin shrivelled, and her bones turned to stone. Today, all that remains of Echo is the sound of her voice.

The tale of Daphnis and Chloe is a 2nd century romance by Greek author Longush. At one point in the novel, Daphnis and Chloe are staring out at the boats gliding across the sea. Chloe, having never heard an echo before, is confused on hearing the fisherman's song repeated in a nearby valley. Daphnis promises to tell her the story of Echo in exchange for ten more kisses. Daphnis’ rendition differs radically from Ovid's account. According to Daphnis, Echo was raised among the Nymphæ because her mother was a nymph. Her father, however, was merely a man and hence Echo was not herself a nymph but mortal. Echo spent her days dancing with the Nymphæ and singing with the Muses who taught her all manner of musical instruments. Pan then grew angry with her, envious of her musical virtuosity and covetous of her virginity, which she would yield neither to men nor gods. Pan drove the men of the fields mad, and, like wild animals, they tore Echo apart and scattered the still singing fragments of her body across the earth. Codex 190 of Photius' Bibliotheca states that Pan's unrequited love for Echo was placed there by Aphrodite, angry at his verdict in a beauty contest. Nonnus’ Dionysiaca contains a number of references to Echo. In Nonnus’ account, though Pan frequently chased Echo, he never won her affection. Book VI also makes reference to Echo in the context of the Great Deluge. Nonnus states that the waters rose so far that even high on the hills Echo was forced to swim. Having escaped the advances of Pan, she feared now the lust of Poseidon. Whereas Nonnus is adamant that Pan never wins Echo, in Apuleius' The Golden Ass Pan is described with Echo in his arms, teaching the nymph to repeat all manner of songs. Similarly in the Suda, Echo is described as bearing Pan a child, Iynx. This medieval account alters the characters of both Echo and Narcissus. In Ovid's account Echo is a beautiful nymph residing with the Muses, and Narcissus is a haughty prince. In The Lay of Narcissus, Echo is replaced by the princess Dané. Conversely, Narcissus loses the royal status he bore in Ovid's account: in this rendition he is no more than a commoner, a vassal of Dané's father, the King. Humiliated, Dané calls out to Amor, and, in response, the god curses Narcissus. In a classic example of poetic justice, Narcissus is forced to suffer the same pain he inflicted on others, namely the pain of unrequited love. While Ovid's story is still recognisable, many of the details have changed considerably. Almost all references to pagan deities are gone, save Amor who is little more than a personification of love. Narcissus is demoted to the status of a commoner while Echo is elevated to the status of princess. Allusions to Narcissus’ homosexuality are expunged. While Ovid talks of Narcissus' disdain for both male and female suitors, the Lay only mentions his hatred of women. Similarly, in the Lay, Narcissus mistakes his reflection for that of a woman, whereas no mention is made of this in Ovid's account. Finally, the tale is overtly moralized with messages about courtly love. Such exhortations were entirely absent from the Metamorphoses rendition. In this rendition, Echo is not a nymph, or a princess, but a noble lady. She fell madly in love with Narcissus, so much so that she declared that she would die should he fail to love her in turn. Narcissus refuses, not because he despises all women, but merely because he is haughty and excessively proud of his own beauty. Guillaume's rendition builds on the themes of courtly love emphasised in the Lay and moves further away from Ovid's initial account. The curse of Athena is absent entirely, and the tale is overtly moralised. Unlike in the Lay, however, this moral message is aimed solely at women; this despite the fact that the offending behaviour is perpetrated by Narcissus not Echo.