The inspiration of the ancients: the myth of Narcissus and Echo*

ABSTRACT In psychoanalytic work we could be said to be exploring the myths which sustain a patient’s way of life. From Freud onwards we have inherited the idea that the universally true and unavoidable psychological realities of human lives are illuminated by the great myths of the world’s cultures. Freud was particularly impressed by the wisdom of the Greek myths, and two of the most famous, the myths surrounding the life of Oedipus and the myth of Narcissus and Echo have given their names to central psychoanalytic concepts. This paper explores the myth of Narcissus and Echo from the perspective of the challenges of infantile and adolescent development.