According to Greek mythology, Narcissus, the son of Cephisus, was a handsome youth. Echo fell madly in love with him; unfortunately Narcissus didn’t reciprocate her love. Echo was so heartbroken that she simply faded away. Only her bones and voice remained.

Nemesis, the goddess of vengeance became so angry that she cursed Narcissus. She made him fall in love with his own reflection. Poor Narcissus kept pining away looking at his reflection in the waters of a fountain. Guess what happened next? According to the story, he turned into a flower. “Narcissism” is the habit of always thinking about yourself and admiring yourself.

his is the story of Echo and Narcissus. It is, like many stories in Greek Mythology, sad and very unfair. But I guess that’s life.

Our story begins with Echo and Zeus. That ever-cheatin’ God was at it again, this time with the young nymph Echo. Now, at that time (just in case you may have picked up on the significance of her name) Echo was a nymph like any other and a very talkative one at that. They were making out or making love or whatever, believing that all was well. But Hera was NOT a happy camper. She had followed Zeus, expecting JUST that kind of behavior out of him. She came down to Earth to apprehend her “too-much-love-for-one-woman” husband, but Zeus, being godly, sensed her coming. He instructed Echo to keep Hera busy until he could get away.
Echo did just that. Hera confronted her with the affair, but Echo created a long and very untrue story for Hera, giving her lover enough time to escape. Now, Rhea (Hera’s mom) didn’t raise no fool. She knew she had been tricked, and by a nymph at that! She turned on Echo and declared:
“That tongue of yours, by which I have been tricked, shall have its power curtailed and enjoy the briefest use of speech.”
Ovid, Metamorphoses 3.365
From that moment on the talkative Echo could barely use her voice, and could only repeat the words that those around her said. She was lonely, and couldn’t really talk to other nymphs because of her condition, and secluded herself deep in the woods.
Thomas Jacoby, (c)2000
One day, a very handsome young man came along. His name, surprise surprise, was Narcissus. Echo fell in love with him at once. Echo wanted to call out, “Wait! I love you!” But her voice was frozen in her throat by Hera’s curse. The young man went deeper and deeper into the forest, until he came upon a calm stream. He was thirsty and so he bent over to drink, but as he leaned over he caught sight of his reflection in the water. He was as taken by his beauty as Echo had been, but without her barrier. He immediatly spoke to his reflection, “I love you.” Echo, nearby and hearing her chance quickly responded, “love you . . .” But it was too late, Narcissus was too engrossed with himself to notice the nymph. His love was his obsession and would not leave the stream to eat, nor disturb his image to drink and so he died of thirst and hunger and unrequited self-love. Where he had lain a flower grew, the narcissus 2, the same flower that wooed the innocent Persephone. Poor Echo pined away and died for the same things, but when she died not even her bones remained, some say they were turned to stone. But Gaia preserved Echo’s voice, the one thing she had been denied in life, and to this day her voice sounds everywhere.

Links:

1. Greek gods’ family tree

2. Fun guide to Greek mythology

In Greek mythology Erebus was the son of a primordial God, Chaos, the personification of darkness and shadow, which filled in all the corners and crannies of the world. He was the offspring of Chaos alone. He was brother of Nyx and father with her of Aether and Hemera, according to Hesiod (c. 700 BC). According to Hyginus (c. AD 0), he was the father of Geras.

According to some later legends, Erebus was part of Hades, the underworld. It was where the dead had to pass immediately after dying. After Charon ferried them across the river Acheron, they entered Tartarus, the underworld proper. Erebus was often used as a synonym for Hades, the Greek god of the underworld.

Erebus was known as the embodiment of primordial darkness, the son of Chaos (who was the void from which all things developed, known also as Darkness). According to Hesiod’s Theogony, Erebus was born with Nyx (Night), and was the father of Aether (the bright upper atmosphere) and Hemera (Day). Charon, the ferry-man who took the dead over the rivers of the infernal region, is also said to be the son of Erebus and Nyx.

Later legend describes Erebus as the Infernal Region below the earth. In this version, Hades was split into two regions: Erebus, which the dead have to pass shortly after they have died, and Tartarus, the deepest region, where the Titans were imprisoned. Aristophanes’ Birds says that Erebus and Nyx were also the parents of Eros, the god of love.

In short, Erebus was the son of Chaos, father of day & love and husband of the night!