The Nymph Who Could Only Repeat
A chatterbox nymph who often stalled Hera with endless talk to cover Zeus’s escapes. Caught out, she was punished by the queen: never again to speak first, only to repeat the last few words of others. She then fell for Narcissus — pairing one who loves only himself with one who cannot speak first is the cruelest match in all of myth. The word "echo" comes from her.
In the woods, Narcissus called "Is anyone there?" and she could only answer "there?"; he called "Come here and let us meet," and she rushed forward in joy repeating "let us meet" — only to be shoved away. She hid in a cave and wasted thinner and thinner, until only her voice was left in the valley. The echo you hear in the hills today is her, still answering.
Below are how modern works borrow or reinterpret this name or story — not the original material. The two differ, so keep them apart.
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