Death of a Naturalist In this quote he parallels himself to Narcissus, a hunter in Greek Mythology who is cursed to fall in love with his own reflection by the goddess Nemesis after he shuns Echo, an Oread nymph. The reader can see that for a short time after his college experience, Heaney relies on only himself for inspiration. Eventually he realizes his mistake, and unlike Narcissus, is able to bring himself back to reality. Death of a Naturalist was received with mostly positive reviews and helped Heaney gain recognition on an international scale. Several of the poems had been published previously in pamphlets
Ida (nymph) Ida (nymph) In Greek mythology, Ida or Ide (Ancient Greek: Ἴδη) was one of the nurses of the infant Zeus on Crete. According to Apollodorus, Rhea gave the infant Zeus to the nymphs Adrasteia and Ida, daughters of Melisseus, leader of the Kuretes of Crete, to nurse, and they fed Zeus on the milk of the goat Amalthea. According to Hyginus, Ida and Adrastea (along with Amalthea) were daughters of Oceanus, whom "others say they were the daughters of Melisseus". She was associated with the Cretan Mount Ida. According to the second-century geographer Pausanias, Ida was represented, on the altar