Echo,the magical Nymph of the woods, by Simela

1. Echo

2. Echo
Echo was a magical wood nymph. Echo had the most beautiful voice. She was very musical and
possessed a good and loving heart. Echo lived deep in the woods and rejected all suitors, which
made her, of course, a favorite of the goddess Artemis.
…There are many myths about Echo. Here are three of them, loosely retold…

3. Echo and Hera
One day, Zeus tore into the woods, looking for a place to hide. His wife, Hera, was after him
again. Would he ever learn to stop flirting with the nymphs who lived deep in the woods?
Apparently not. Spotting Echo, he asked her to help him escape the eagle eye of his wife. One did
not turn down a request from Zeus.
When Hera tore into the woods after Zeus, Echo sidetracked her with chatter and gossip. After
that day, each time Zeus raced into the forest with Hera close on his heels, Echo sidetracked her
with chatter and gossip. For some time, this worked well for Zeus.
When Hera finally figured out what was going on, she punished Echo by denying her much of
her beautiful voice. All Echo could do forever after was repeat the last few sounds she heard.

4. Echo & Narcissus
Echo spotted the most beautiful young man. His name was Narcissus. Echo did something she
thought she would never do - she fell in love. But Hera had taken most of her voice. All she could
do was echo sounds made by others. She could howl like a wolf, but only if a wolf had just
howled. She could sing like a breeze through reeds, but only if the reeds sang first. How could she
tell Narcissus that she loved him? One day, she spotted Narcissus looking into a stream. He
seemed enchanted by what he saw. "Come to me," Narcissus begged, looking into the water.
"Come to me," Echo echoed eagerly. Narcissus swung about. "Who's there?" he angrily demanded
to know. "Who's there," Echo echoed loudly. "Stop that!" Narcissus snapped. "Stop that!" Echo
echoed. "Let's meet," Narcissus said in a much softer voice that he had used so far. "Let's meet!"
Echo echoed happily. She stepped out from behind a tree. "Go away," Narcissus shouted at her.
"Go away," Echo echoed sadly. Echo went sadly away.

5. Things did not go well for Narcissus after that. Narcissus returned to the stream
again and again. He stared at the lovely young man he saw in the water. He did
not know it was only the reflection of himself. Hidden from sight, Echo watched
Narcissus as he lay by the stream. She repeated everything that Narcissus said.
Narcissus ignored her. Day after day he lay by the stream, admiring his own
reflection. He stopped eating. He stopped drinking. And finally, he died.

6. Echo & Pan
The god Pan spotted Echo one day and fell madly in love. But Echo would have nothing to do
with him. This made Pan so angry that he used his powers to panic his shepherds. They went mad,
and tore Echo to pieces. Pieces of Echo were carried by the wind all over the world.
Gaia, the Earth mother, who had always liked Echo, could not change what Pan had done. She
could not change what Hera had done. But she could let the pieces of Echo keep what voice
remained to them.
Thanks to Gaia, even today, you can sometimes hear a piece of Echo repeating the sounds
around her - the howl of a dog, the toot of a train, or the last few words that people say.

7. A presentation by Mavreli Simela 
Links:
http://greece.mrdonn.org/myths.html