Echo and Narcissus Echo and Narcissus Echo and Narcissus is a myth from Ovid's "Metamorphoses", a Latin mythological epic from the Augustan Age. The introduction of the myth of the mountain nymph Echo into the story of Narcissus, the beautiful youth who rejected sexuality and falls in love with his own reflection, appears to have been Ovid's invention. Ovid's version influenced the presentation of the myth in later Western art and literature. The myth of the goddess is told in Book III of the "Metamorphoses", and tells the story of a "talkative nymph" whom the goddess Venus admires for her magnificent voice and
Narcissus (plant) long before the story of Narcissus appeared (see Greek culture). It has also been suggested that daffodils bending over streams represent the youth admiring his reflection. Linnaeus used the Latin name "narcissus" for the plant but was preceded by others such as Matthias de l'Obel (1591) and Clusius (1576). The name Narcissus was not uncommon for men in Roman times. The plural form of the common name "narcissus" has caused some confusion. Dictionaries list "narcissi", "narcissuses" and "narcissus". However, texts on usage such as Garner and Fowler state that "narcissi" is the preferred form. The common name narcissus should not