ABSTRACT
In that respect, it is a variation on a theme. We might compare the story of Daphne’s transformation into the laurel tree (daphne is Greek for laurel) as she tries to escape from Apollo’s lust (Book 1.452-567) or the explanation of the marks on the petals of the hyacinth, commemorating the death of Apollo’s beloved boy, Hyacinthus (Book 10.170-219). In the case of Narcissus, his transformation is hardly the central element in the narrative. It comes about because he breaks the condition for enjoying a long life. The condition is that he must not ‘know himself’ – a paradox in direct contradiction of the famous command ‘Know Thyself’ inscribed at the oracle at Delphi. Ovid uses the story to focus upon what it means, or might mean, to ‘know oneself’ and the story incorporates two of his favourite themes, desire and death. He also innovates by combining, apparently for the first time, the story of the nymph Echo with the story of Narcissus, a combination which has become canonical.
