Dangerous Beauty: the Punishment of Narcissus, Conon Narr. 24

Narcissus, Punished for his Asexuality

Name:   Conon Date:    1st century BCE – 1st century CE Region:   Cappadocia [modern Turkey] Citation:  Narrations 24

The myth of Narcissus has numerous forms. In some versions, he is punished for not loving the nymph Echo. In others, he is punished for not loving Aminias. This version shows his punishment for never being romantically interested in anyone.

Narcissus was born in Thespia, a town in Boeotia not far from Helicon. He was exceptionally pretty, but he despised love and boyfriends. Many of his suitors fell into despair; Amainas was particularly eager and lovesick. But when Narcissus didn’t pay attention to him...Amainas begged that the gods would avenge him. Then Narcissus, having caught sight of his own face as it was reflected in the water, became the first and only lover of himself. Finally, in despair, he realized he was being punished for rejecting his lovers, he ended his life. From that time on, Thespians especially honor and revere love, not only in public, but they also make sacrifices in private to love, too. The Thespians also think that the Narcissus flower first rose up in the place where Narcissus’ blood fell.

ἐν Θεσπείᾳ τῆς Βοιωτίας ἔστι δ’ ἡ πόλις οὐχ ἑκὰς τοὺς Ἑλικῶνος παῖς ἔφυ Νάρκισσος πάνυ καλὸς καὶ ὑπερόπτης  Ἔρωτός τε καὶ ἐραστῶν. Καὶ οἱ μὲν ἄλλοι τῶν ἐραστῶν ἐρῶντες ἀπηγόρευσαν, Ἀμεινίας δὲ πολὺς ἦν ἐπιμένων καὶ δεόμενος. ὡς δ’ οὐ προσίετο ἀλλὰ καὶ ξίφος προσέπεμψεν, ἑαυτὸν πρὸ τῶν θυρῶν Ναρκίσσου διαχειρίζεται πολλὰ καθικετεύσας τιμωρόν οἱ γενέσθαι τὸν θεόν. Ὁ δὲ Νάρκισσος ἰδὼν αὐτοῦ τὴν ὄψιν καὶ τὴν μορφὴν ἐπὶ κρήνης ἐνδαλλομένην τῷ ὕδατι, καὶ μόνος καὶ πρῶτ τος ἑαυτοῦ γίνεται ἄτοπος ἐραστής. Τέλος ἀμηχανῶν καὶ δίκαια πάσχειν οἰηθεὶς ἀνθ ὧν Ἀμεινίου ἐξύβρισε τοὺς ἔρωτας, ἑαυτὸν διαχρᾶται. Καὶ ἐξ ἐκείνου Θεσπιεῖς μᾶλλον τιμᾶν καὶ γεραίρειν τὸν Ἔρωτα καὶ πρὸς ταῖς κοιναῖς θεραπείαις καὶ ἰδίᾳ θύειν ἔγνωσαν. Δοκοῦσι δ’ οἱ ἐπιχώριοι τὸν νάρκισσον τὸ ἄνθος ἐξ ἐκείνης πρῶτον τῆς γῆς ἀνασχεῖν εἰς ἣν ἐξεχύθη τὸ τοῦ Ναρκίσσου αἷμα.

In Boetia civitate Thespeia, quae non longe ab Helicone sita est, puer natus Narissus, pulcher admodum, sed amoris amatorumque contemptor. Quare alii quidem despondere animum amantes coeperunt: Aminiasque tantum assiduus erat, & pertinax precator. At cum neque hunc audiret ille...deum vehementer precatus, ultor sibi ut fieret. Narcissus igitur vultum aliquando suum contemplatus, formaeque simulacrum in aqua fontis apparens, & solus & primus incipit caeco sui amore flagrare. Ergo consilii tandem inops, & iustas sese dare poenas arbitratus, quod Aminiam amatorem iniuria laesisset, mortem sibi conscivit. Ex eo, responso dato, ut amor magis honoraretur, colereturque, praeter communem cultum, privatim quoque sacrificare decreverunt. Ea autem incolarum opinio est, primum ex illa terra extitisse Narcissum florem, in quam effusus Narcissi sanguis fuisset. Translated into Latin by  Thomas Gale

Conon [1^st century BCE – 1^st century CE, Cappadocia, modern Turkey] was a Greek mythographer who lived during the reign of Augustus. Although his work, the Narrations, is lost, a summary of it was preserved by the Greek author Photius.