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Narcissus Painted plaster Pompeii VII 15, 2 (House of the Sailor) Pompeii Archaeological Park, Inv. N. 20877 21½ × 24⅜ in.; thickness 1⅝ in. 45–79 CE (Fourth Style) © MIC – Parco Archeologico di Pompei
The legend of Narcissus, the young, handsome hunter, son of Cephisus, a river deity, and the nymph Liriope, was certainly well known in Pompeii. It is among the favorite subjects of the Fourth Style: there are almost fifty representations in which the myth is portrayed in Ovid’s version, and in which Narcissus is depicted in the act of gazing into water, enraptured by the reflection of his own image. The picture presented here, even if incomplete, retains all the elements of the story. Narcissus is a young man of such beauty that he makes everyone fall in love with him, but, incapable of loving in return, he pushes away those who approach him, lastly, the nymph Echo. Rejected and heartbroken, Echo wanders desperately through the woods, mourning her unrequited love until only her voice remains. Nemesis, the goddess of revenge, listening to her cries, decides to punish the cruel Narcissus. The boy, in the woods, sees his image reflected in a deep pool of water for the first time and falls madly in love without realizing that he is staring at himself. When he realizes that he is looking at his own image, and not that of another who can reciprocate his love, he lets himself die. —AC
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