[DK]
Bronzeskulptur af Ekko.
Ekko er en nymfe fra græsk mytologi. Hun var en bjergnymfe (Oreade) fra Mount Kithairon.
Forbande
Ekko havde en vane med at tale uophørligt. Hun distraherede derved gudinden Hera på en sådan måde, at Heras mand, Zeus, ikke længere kunne fanges i hans utallige affærer med andre gudinder eller dødelige. Ifølge nogle kilder forbandede Hera Ekko, så hun kun var i stand til at efterligne andre. Dette er en ætiologisk (dvs. forårsagende) forklaring på fænomenet ekkoet som et akustisk fænomen.
Ekko og Narcissus
Ekko blev forelsket i Narcissus, men han var kun interesseret i jagt. Ved deres første møde gemte Ekko sig og gentog Narcissus' ord. Da Narcissus fortalte stemmen, at han ville slutte sig til hende, sprang Ekko frem med hendes hjerte fuld af kærlighed og gentog Narcissus' ord igen. Men da han så Ekko, afskyede han hende straks. Ekkos hjerte knækkede øjeblikkeligt, og hun gemte sig i en hule, der sygnede hun hen i sorg, indtil alt var væk. Kun hendes stemme var tilbage, og den gentog alle de sidste ord. Hendes stemme foretrækker at være mellem bjergene, hvorfor du har et ekko der.
Narcissus klarede sig ikke meget bedre. Guderne havde forbandet ham efter at have knust Ekkos hjerte. Narcissus ville aldrig elske nogen igen undtagen for hans egen refleksion. Da han gik ind i den hellige dam, så han sit spejlbillede og blev straks forelsket i det. Men hvis han ville holde eller kysse refleksionen, forsvandt karakteren igen. Dette ramte Narcissus med stor sorg, han holdt op med at spise og drikke, så han kunne fortsætte med at se sit spejlbillede. Så også Narcissus omkom fuldstændigt. Hvad der derefter skete, er forskelligt mellem mange kilder, men den mest brugte går sådan her: guderne, især Afrodite, forbarmede sig over Narcissus, og da han var næsten helt væk, forvandlede de ham til en blomst, så han på en eller anden måde stadig levede videre.
[EN]
Bronze sculpture of Echo.
Echo is a nymph from Greek mythology. She was a mountain nymph (Oreade) of Mount Kithairon.
Curse
Echo had a habit of talking incessantly. She thereby distracted the goddess Hera in such a way that Hera's husband, Zeus, could no longer be caught in his countless affairs with other goddesses or mortals. According to some sources, Hera cursed Echo so that she was only able to imitate others. This is an etiological (ie causative) explanation of the phenomenon of the echo as an acoustic phenomenon.
Echo and Narcissus
Echo fell in love with Narcissus, but he was only interested in hunting. At their first meeting, Echo hid and repeated Narcissus' words. When Narcissus told the voice that he wanted to join her, Echo leaped forward with her heart full of love and repeated Narcissus' words again. But when he saw Echo, he immediately loathed her. Echos heart instantly broke and she hid in a cave where she languished in grief until everything was gone. Only her voice remained, and it repeated all the last words. Her voice prefers to be between the mountains, which is why you have an echo there.
Narcissus did not fare much better. The gods had cursed him after breaking Echos heart. Narcissus would never love anyone again except for his own reflection. When he entered the holy pond, he saw his reflection and immediately fell in love with it. But if he wanted to hold or kiss the reflection, the character disappeared again. This struck Narcissus with great sorrow, he stopped eating and drinking so that he could continue to see his reflection. So Narcissus also perished completely. What happened next varies among many sources, but the most commonly used goes like this: the gods, especially Aphrodite, took pity on Narcissus, and when he was almost completely gone, they turned him into a flower, he looked at some way still lived on.
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