History of narcissism true or false self". Narcissus was a handsome Greek youth who rejected the desperate advances of the nymph Echo. As punishment, he was doomed to fall in love with his own reflection in a pool of water. Unable to consummate his love, Narcissus 'lay gazing enraptured into the pool, hour after hour', and finally pined away, changing into a flower that bears his name, the narcissus. The story was retold in Latin by Ovid in his Metamorphoses, in which form it would have great influence on medieval and Renaissance culture. 'Ovid's tale of Echo and Narcissus...weaves in and out of
Echo (mythology) himself oft hears his very own pipes and, giving chase across the mountains, looks in vain for the secret student he can never find. Both the Homeric and Orphic Hymns to Pan reiterate Longus’ tale of Pan chasing Echo’s secret voice across the mountains. 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