Narcissus – A Mythological Youth
What Is Narcissus?
This question may tickle you as there are two answers revealing the name of a Greek mythological youth and a special flower, botanically known as Narcissus. Although the flower, identified as Narcissus, has been classified scientifically, there is a peculiar story on the youth, Narcissus, who was immune to power of love and infatuation. Before penning down about peculiar mythological youth, let’s find out what the Narcissus stands for in actual sense. Narcissus is believed to signify a quaint mental condition showing the numbness of mind or emotion-less state of human. Such definition stems from an attitude of mythological youth belonging to territory of Thespiae in Boeotia.
Narcissus- A Mythological Youth
The Narcissus was the sone of Liriope (a blue nymph of Thespia) and Cephisus (river god). According to a tale, Cephisus was allured by fascinating beauty of Liriope who dissuaded Liriope, resulting into Liriope’s surrendering herself to Cephisus. With the libidinous love going on between Cephisus and Liriope for long a cute baby was born, named Narcissus. It was a most beautiful boy in the world. Anxious of baby’s future when Liriope contacted foretellers she was revealed that Narcissus could never be defeated by anyone on the earth except his own self.
This fifteen year old, Narcissus was so beautiful and attractive by his libidinous personality that all the fascinating boys and girls of his age were vigorously attracted towards him. Every girl longed immensely to get united by her soul and body with Narcissus. The girls aspired to live in the arms of Narcissus till the last of their breath for the sake of an exceptional libidinous conviviality. But despite being bestowed with such an extraordinary power of lust and beauty, Narcissus was a hard nut to crack even for a nymph-like girls. He was too cruel, haughty and arrogant by his nature responding indecently even to affectionate treatment meted out to him by the emotional and sensitive girls. He snubbed those girls who, getting magnetized toward his passionate personality and beauty, longed to sacrifice everything invaluable, including their virginity.
A story revolving around mesmerizing beauty, sexual attraction, libidinous power and arrogance of Narcissus, reveals that Narcissus’ god-gifted beauty during his adolescence fascinates a nymph, Echo who fell in love with him but was mistreated and warned by Narcissus not to come closer to him thence-forward. Echo’s heart was broken by arrogant behavior of Narcissus and getting badly shocked, Echo passed rest of her life in seclusion and frustration.
How Narcissus was punished
The Narcissus, entitled to be punished for cruel behavior with Echo, after all is punished by the God. Being careless of love and attachment one day Narcissus reaches a pond where he sees the image of own body. Looking into the mirror-like water of a deep pond he gets infatuated and loses his mental control. Longing to go too close to the beautiful youth (image of his own), Narcissus ends his life in frustration. Yes, attracted by the beauty of own self, Narcissus behaves just like a fidgety creature seeking to embrace the image of his own but only in vain. What looks very pathetic in the story is a sudden arrival of Echo (lover of Narcissus) who watches everything helplessly being finished before her eyes as the soul of Narcissus, after the death, was sent to a darkest hell.
Other conceptions
As the Narcissus is a term revolving only around the sex and libido it was used in 1898 by an English sexologist, Havelock Ellis as well for masturbation, while Paul Näche had used it in a study of sexual perversions in 1899. In 1911 it was linked to vanity and self-admiration too.
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