Alternative Theories of Narcissus
In Greek mythology, it is widely known that Narcissus was a figure who fell in love with his own reflection. That is the reason why today, we refer to narcissists as those who think very highly of themselves. However, like most Greek mythology, the story of Narcissus has more than just one version.
In an alternate story to the one that has Narcissus loving himself to death literally, he is in love with his sister. The story goes that Narcissus had a twin sister, who looked exactly like him and that he fell in love with her. This was not rare in Greek mythology as siblings quite often found love with each other. Narcissus’ sister dies in the story and Narcissus is overcome by grief. After her death, Narcissus walks by a pond one day and seeing his own reflection, he believes it to be that of his late sister. Thinking that he has found love once again, Narcissus sits by the pond, forever holding that love in his heart. In this story, it is not himself that Narcissus is happy to look at but his sister. Narcissus still remains by the water until he too dies and many flowers grow in his place to show that he will forever love his departed sister.
In another alternative to the original story, Narcissus is killed by the gods after becoming so obsessed with his own reflection. It is the gods that destroy Narcissus, not him pining away as the original story tells, and the gods then turn his body into a flower. Today we call the flower Narcissus and it closely resembles a daffodil but differs in the way that it has a brightly colored center of usually orange or purple. This flower is to serve as a reminder to all others that one should never become so enraptured by themselves that they neglect the needs of others. The flower still blooms today in the spring to serve as a reminder as to what can happen when one becomes so consumed by their own strengths. The flower blooms in the spring and most often grows in areas that are near water.
All versions of the story teach us a lesson about vanity and about placing the needs of others before our own. The story has been found to be so relevant today that there is an actual disorder, called Narcissistic Personality Disorder in which people have complete disregard for others and are only concerned with their abilities, whether those abilities are looks or intellect.