In Greek mythology, Narcissus is a handsome 16 year old youth with whom many fell in love because of his beauty. But he returned their love, especially to the mountain nymph Echo, who was punished by the goddess Hera for covering Zeus in amorous adventures by entertaining Hera with conversation. As punishment, Hera took away her gift of speech, and from now on Echo could only repeat the last words repeated to her. Once when Narcissus was alone in the forest, separated from his hunting party, the nymph approached him without stretched arms as sign of longing. Superiorly, Narcissus resisted her embrace, at the same time Echo felt so humiliated that he crawled into a cave and cringed with hunger that all that remained of her was her voice. In return, the goddess of wrath Nemesis punished Narcissus by making him fall in love with his own beautiful reflection the next time he saw himself. When Narcissus saw his reflection in a waterpond, he fell so hoplessly in love with his other self that he died from the unrequited love of his own reflection. At the place of his death, an extraordinary yellow flower was found in place insetad of his corpse, known today as the Narcissus flower.
