Narcissus was a young man who was celebrated for his beauty, and attracted many admirers but, in his arrogance, spurned them all. The suffering of two, however, brought down upon him a deadly curse. First there was the nymph, Echo - a girl cursed by Hera  to repeat only the last words of what was said before. When she was rejected by the boy, she faded away in her despair leaving nothing behind but the haunting echo of her voice.

The other admirer was the youth Ameinias who became distraught when Narcissus cruelly spurned him. He called upon the goddess Nemesis to avenge him. His prayer was quickly answered, when Narcissus fell in love with his own image reflected in a pool. Gazing endlessly at the reflection, he slowly pined away and was transformed by the nymphs into a narcissus flower.