Saturday, September 26, 2009

Speaking of Narcissus ...

In our journey through the MANGO CULTURE of the world, I decided to introduce some curious facts of history to both, increase you GQ (gay Quotient) and Probably start you on some new fantasies.. lol

This is the legend of the the famous NARCISSUS from where springs the term ' Narcissism' which means self obsession. Interestingly, this rather common term has a gay twist to it .. Read on..

The Legend is about NARCISSUS ( a beautiful boy ) and an nymph called ECHO. When he had reached "his sixteenth year", (fifteen years of age, by modern reckoning) every youth and girl in the town was in love with him, but he haughtily spurned them all.

One day when Narcissus was out hunting stags, Echo ,a nymph, stealthily followed the handsome youth through the woods, longing to address him but unable to speak first. When Narcissus finally heard footsteps and shouted "Who's there?", Echo answered "Who's there?" And so it went, until finally Echo showed herself and rushed to embrace the lovely youth. He pulled away from the nymph and vainly told her to leave him alone. Narcissus left Echo heartbroken and she spent the rest of her life in lonely glens, pining away for the love she never knew, until only her voice remained.

Nemesis (a GOD) heard this prayer and sent Narcissus his punishment. He came across a deep pool in a forest, from which he took a drink. As he did, he saw his reflection for the first time in his life and fell in love with the beautiful boy he was looking at, not realizing it was himself. Eventually, after pining away for a while, he realized that the image he saw in the pool was a reflection of himself. Realizing that he could not act upon this love, he tore at his dress and beat at his body, his life force draining out of him. As he died, the bodyless Echo came upon him and felt sorrow and pity. His soul was sent to "the darkest hell" and the narcissus flower grew where he died. It is said that Narcissus still keeps gazing on his image in the waters of the river Styx.

The Narcissus plant first sprang from where he died.

Narcissus is the botanic name for a genus of mainly hardy, mostly spring-flowering, bulbs in the Amaryllis family native to Europe, North Africa, and Asia. There are also several Narcissus species that bloom in the autumn. Daffodil is a common English name !!

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