ECHO
Echo, a beautiful mountain nymph, was a great talker and always had to have the last word.
She was a favorite of Artemis, goddess of the hunt. Together they hunted in the woods, swam in
mountain pools, and caught fish for meals. But Echo’s delightful life was destroyed, all because she
tried to protect her friends from Hera’s wrath.
One day Hera came spying on a group of nymphs in the woods. She suspected that
her husband, Zeus, was in love with one of them and hoped to find out which one he favored.
Echo did not know which nymph was Zeus’s favorite, and so she started a conversation with
Hera in order to let all the other nymphs escape.” Isn’t it lovely here?” she said. “Yes, indeed,” Hera
replied, “but I am very busy right now and have no time for talk.”
“It seems to me you are busy talking,” said Echo, “which is the nicest way to be busy, don’t
you agree?” She went on and on, and every time Hera tried to get away from her, Echo asked another
question. By the time Hera got away and ran to the nymphs’ pool, all the nymphs had fled. “This is your doing,” said Hera to Echo. “You kept talking to let them escape. And I shall
punish you for that. You shall never be able to speak first, but shall only be able to repeat what others
say. You shall always have the last word.”
Soon after that, Echo fell in love with a handsome young hunter named Narcissus. She
followed him through the woods, hoping to make him notice her. But she could not speak first and
had to wait for him to speak to her.
One day her chance came. Narcissus became separated from his friends and called out,
“Is anyone here?” “Here,” called Echo. Narcissus could not see her, for she was behind a bush. He
shouted, “Come,” thinking she was one of his companions, and she called back, “Come.”
“Let us be together,” called Narcissus, for he could not see anybody. “Let us be together,”
called Echo, and she ran up to him with her arms open, ready to embrace him. But Narcissus said
cruelly, “Do not touch me. I would rather perish than let you have power over me.” “Have power
over me,” said Echo pleadingly, but Narcissus bounded away, leaving Echo alone and ashamed.
Afterward she lived in a cave, and finally, because of her great grief, she shrank to nothing. The only
thing left of her was her voice, which echoed through the mountains, repeating the words of anyone
who called.
1.The ancient Greeks believed that their gods acted like ordinary people and even experienced
human emotions. Consider Hera’s feelings and actions in the highlighted part. In what ways is she
like a human being? (highlighted part: Hera’s wrath.One day Hera came spying on a group of nymphs in the woods. She suspected that her husband, Zeus, was in love with one of them and hoped to find out which one he favored.)
2. Based in the highlighted part, it shows how Narcissus react to Echo. How is the highlighted
part important in the story? (highlighted part: But Narcissus said cruelly, “Do not touch me. I would rather perish than let you have power over me.”)
3.This myth tell us about unrequited love. If you were Echo how would you handle the
situation?
4.Some myths attempt to explain how something in the world came to be. What natural
phenomenon is explained in this myth?
5. If you could change feelings or behavior of someone to be less like Echo or Narcissus, how
would you change him/her?
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Answer:
Echo is just an echo you scream somewhere a cave a mountain somewhere it is an echo its supposed to do that echo can copy your voice and bring it back at you