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
Nymph Nymph A nymph ( "nýmphē," Ancient: Modern: ) in Greek mythology is a minor female nature deity typically associated with a particular location or landform. Different from other goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as divine spirits who animate nature, and are usually depicted as beautiful, young nubile maidens who love to dance and sing; their amorous freedom sets them apart from the restricted and chaste wives and daughters of the Greek "polis". They are beloved by many and dwell in mountainous regions and forests by springs or rivers; as Walter Burkert (Burkert 1985:III.3.3) remarks, "The idea that rivers are gods