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Narcissus
Narcissus Narcissus, from whose myth narcissism has been named, was the son of the river god Cephissus and the nymph Liriope. He fell in love with his own image reflected in water, pined away, and was transformed into the flower which bears his name. According to the Roman poet Ovid, the metamorphosis of Narcissus was a punishment for having rejected the nymph Echo, who fell in love with Narcissus but who was unable to speak except by repeating his words. The geographer Pausanias gives another version in which Narcissus fell in love with his twin sister; when she died, he thought he had found her again in his reflection.
Perhaps because of its contribution to debates about the nature of representation and the relationship between what is seen and what is real, the myth has been very popular as a subject in art, both during and since the classical period. About fifty murals depicting Narcissus survive from Pompeii alone. The best-known work from the modern period representing the myth is probably Salvador Dali's Metamorphosis of Narcissus. It is also a significant myth in psychological work. Narcissus' love for his own reflection is the origin of Freud's idea of narcissism as a stage in the development of the ego. Lacan saw primary narcissism as concerned with the creation of awareness of the body as body; he also drew attention to the fragmentation of the body in this myth, with Echo as voice alone, and Narcissus as the gaze. Derrida suggested that Freud was himself Narcissus, the man fascinated by his own image. Helen King See also mythology and the body. |
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COLIN BLAKEMORE and SHELIA JENNETT. "Narcissus." The Oxford Companion to the Body. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. COLIN BLAKEMORE and SHELIA JENNETT. "Narcissus." The Oxford Companion to the Body. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O128-Narcissus.html COLIN BLAKEMORE and SHELIA JENNETT. "Narcissus." The Oxford Companion to the Body. 2001. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O128-Narcissus.html |
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Narcissus
Narcissus ♂ Latin form of the Greek name Narkissos. In classical mythology, Narcissus was a beautiful youth who fell in love with his own reflection in a pool of water and remained there transfixed until he faded away and turned into a flower. The legend purports to account for the name of the flower, a kind of lily, known in Greek as narkissos. The name is almost certainly of pre-Greek origin, but attempts have been made to link it with Greek narkē ‘numbness’. The vocabulary word in English and horticultural Latin denotes the genus of flowers that includes the daffodil. The name was common among slaves and freedmen in the early Christian era, and a Roman citizen bearing this name is mentioned in St Paul's Epistle to the Romans (16:11). One St Narcissus was bishop of Jerusalem in 195; another was a Spanish bishop put to death at Gerona under Diocletian in c.307.
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PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Narcissus." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Narcissus." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O41-Narcissus.html PATRICK HANKS, KATE HARDCASTLE, and FLAVIA HODGES. "Narcissus." A Dictionary of First Names. 2006. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O41-Narcissus.html |
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Narcissus
Narcissus d. AD 54, secretary of the Roman Emperor Claudius I. A freedman with great influence, he revealed to Claudius the intrigue of Messalina and expedited her death (AD 48). The woman that Narcissus chose for Claudius' next wife was, however, passed over in favor of Agrippina the Younger , who was hostile to Narcissus. After Claudius' death she drove Narcissus to commit suicide. In the course of his lifetime Narcissus amassed a huge fortune. |
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"Narcissus." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Narcissus." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Narciss2.html "Narcissus." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Narciss2.html |
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Narcissus
Nar·cis·sus / närˈsisəs/ Greek Mythol. a beautiful youth who rejected the nymph Echo and fell in love with his own reflection in a pool. He pined away and was changed into the flower that bears his name. |
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"Narcissus." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Narcissus." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-narcissus.html "Narcissus." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-narcissus.html |
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Narcissus
Narcissus A Christian in Rome; possibly a house-church met in his home; members of his household are sent greetings by Paul in Rom. 16: 11.
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W. R. F. BROWNING. "Narcissus." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. W. R. F. BROWNING. "Narcissus." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O94-Narcissus.html W. R. F. BROWNING. "Narcissus." A Dictionary of the Bible. 1997. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O94-Narcissus.html |
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narcissus
narcissus XVI. — L. — Gr. nárkissos, the termination of which suggests a Mediterranean orig.
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T. F. HOAD. "narcissus." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "narcissus." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-narcissus.html T. F. HOAD. "narcissus." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-narcissus.html |
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Narcissus
Narcissus , in the New Testament, Roman whose household was partly Christian. |
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Cite this article
"Narcissus." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Narcissus." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Narciss1.html "Narcissus." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Narciss1.html |
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narcissus
narcissus •Crassus, Halicarnassus, Lassus
•tarsus
•nexus, plexus, Texas
•Paracelsus
•census, consensus
•Croesus • narcissus • Ephesus
•Dionysus • colossus • Pegasus
•Caucasus • petasus
•excursus, thyrsus, versus
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"narcissus." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "narcissus." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-narcissus.html "narcissus." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-narcissus.html |
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