Pronunciation: ek’o

Etymology: Sound

 Alternate Spellings: Εχω, Ekho

Echo is an Oread or Mountain Nymph found in Greek mythology. She resided on Mount Cithaeron located in Boeotia. The main story of Echo is often used in Greek and later Roman mythology to explain the repetitive or echoing sounds that one hears in mountains and valleys or other places that carry acoustics.

Attributes

Animal: Skunk

Element: Air

Plant: Crabgrass, Hemlock

Greek Depictions

There is an ancient Greek vase depicting Echo as a winged nymph with her face covered by a veil.

Parentage & Family

Parents

Most sources don’t list any parentage for Echo, it stands to reason it is likely Ouranos.

In Longus’ story of Daphne & Chloe, Echo’s parentage is given a that of a nymph and a mortal man, making Echo a demigoddess.

Siblings

As a nymph, all of the other nymphs would be counted as Echo’s sisters.

Consorts

Pan and Narcissus are listed among the lovers for Echo.

Children

Iynx and Iambe – With Pan, Echo is their mother.

There a few main stories involving Echo. Most websites and books tend to focus on the Roman stories and narrative, adding the Greek story later or last. I feel it’s important to reverse the order to how they’re told.

Follower Of Artemis

Being an Oread or Mountain nymph, Echo was a virgin like many of her sisters whom were all favorites and followers of Artemis, the goddess of the hunt.

Porticoes Of Echo

While not exactly worshiped, there were a few places in Greece with porticoes that were dedicated to Echo due to the repeating or echoing sounds they made. One was located at Hermione, Argos known to echo three times and another at Olympia that would echo seven times. Even a statue to Menon in Egypt was known to echo and noted as being connected to Echo for her namesake.

Daphnis & Chloe

This 2^nd century C.E. romance is a story within a story told by the Greek writer Longus.

There comes a point within the story when Daphnis and Chloe are looking out at the boats on the sea. Chloe becomes confused when she hears a fisherman’s song repeated in a nearby valley. Daphnis then promises to tell Chloe the story of Echo in return for ten kisses.

The kisses exchanged, Daphnis proceeds to tell the story of Echo, the daughter of a nymph and a mortal man. Thus, making Echo a demigod of sorts. Raised among the nymphs, Echo learned their dances and learned to sing from the Muses who taught her to play a number of different musical instruments.

By this account, Pan grew jealous and angry for Echo’s musical abilities. Pan grew further enraged, for Echo, like many of the nymphs who are followers of Artemis, goddess of the Hunt was also a virgin, for this, Echo spurned Pan’s advances as she rejected not only him, but other gods and mortals. For this, Pan incited a panic among his shepherd followers who descended upon the helpless Echo, tearing her apart to pieces and scattering her upon the earth.

Gaia, who favored the nymphs gathered up and hid the scattered remains of Echo within herself. At the command of the Muses, Echo’s voice still sings, repeating back the sound of any earthly thing that she hears.

In a sly bit of revenge upon Pan by Gaia, whenever Pan hears his own pipes echoed in the mountains, he goes chasing after the sound, seeking in vain for a student that he can never find.

Homeric And Orphic Hymns – Both of these hymns retell Longus’ story of Pan chasing after Echo’s voice in the mountains.

Echo & Pan

Of Greek origins, this story tells how Echo, being a rather beautiful nymph and musically inclined; being able to sing and play several different instruments. Like all her nymph sisters, Echo lived deep within the forests, spurning the love of mortals and immortals alike.

Before this, there had been an Achilles, the son of Zeus and the Lamia. Now Achilles was incredibly handsome and along with several others, entered a beauty contest with Aphrodite. Acting as judge was Pan who was the most fairest of them all. Aphrodite grew angry with Pan and she cursed Pan with an unrequited love for Echo, whom he pursued relentlessly.

To try and reconcile this version of the story with the above one in Daphnis & Chloe, it makes sense that in his madness, that Pan would incite his shepherd followers to descend upon Echo to tear her apart.

That afterword, Gaia taking pity and having favored Echo, gathers up the pieces of her broken, scattered body to the earth and that all that remained was Echo’s voice. It really makes sense that in mourning, that Echo is chasing after the sound of Echo’s voice every time he hears her repetitive call. It makes sense for Pan to be mentioned as forever chasing after his student that he can never find.

Apuleius, The Golden Ass – A 2^nd century C.E. Roman novel, the author Apuleius describes Pan as sitting by the banks of a stream with Echo in his arms as he teaches her his music and songs.

Suda – In these fragments of poetry and story, Echo is described as bearing the children Iambe and Iynx to Pan.

There must have been a real relation between Echo and Pan and not just the lusty, rutting of a goat-god. It’s unfortunate as it does seem the ire of Aphrodite cause Pan to go into madness and kill his one real love. Given the lusty reputation of Pan for chasing nymphs, Echo’s demise being caused by Aphrodite seems to have been overlooked and lumped in as just another failed conquest.

The Great Deluge

More as a side note, in Nonnus’ Dionysiaca, he makes a number of references to Echo. According to Nonnus’ version of the stories, Pan chased after Echo much like he would chase after the other nymphs, yet never gained her affections. In his Book VI, when Nonnus begins to recount the story of the Great Deluge, he tells how as the waters rose up above the hills, Echo was forced to swim. Just as she had escaped the ravages of Pan, Echo feared the advances of Poseidon should he catch her.

Echo & Juno

This story originates from Roman mythology from Ovid’s Metamorphosis. As it’s Roman, the Roman names for the gods are Jupiter or Jove (Zeus in Greece) and Juno (Hera in Greece). Anyone familiar with Greco-Roman mythologies knows of Jupiter’s reputation and his numerous affairs among mortals and gods alike; much to his wife, Juno’s displeasure.

This is the main story about Echo that most everyone knows, it explains the origin of echoes or repeating sounds in mountains and valleys or anywhere an echo can be heard.

On one occasion, as Jupiter was pursuing one of his latest affairs with a nymph. Juno came among the nymphs looking for her husband as she hoped to catch him in the act. As the case was, Echo had been tasked by Jupiter himself to keep Juno distracted with a lot of idle chatter while Jupiter engaged in his latest tryst. Juno wasn’t happy with the overly talkative nymph and when she discovered that Echo was merely distracting her; Juno punished Echo that she would always be able to have the last word, but she would only be able to repeat the last thing said.

Echo & Narcissus

Another Roman story from Ovid’s Metamorphosis, this picks up from the previous story with Juno’s wrath towards Echo.

Shortly after being cursed by Juno, Echo came across the youth Narcissus while he was out hunting deer with some friends. Echo fell in love with him and followed quietly after Narcissus, for the more she watched him, the more in love she became. Unfortunately, as much as Echo wanted to call out to the young man, Juno’s curse prevented her.

After a time, Narcissus became separated from his friends and he called out: “Is anyone there?” In answer, Echo responded back with: “Is anyone there?”

This started Narcissus who then asked: “Come here.”

Because of the curse, Echo could only respond with the same “come here” reply.

When no one came out into the glade he was standing in, Narcissus figured that the other person must be moving away from him. So, he called out again: “This way, we must come together.”

Echo, taking this to heart as confirmation of her love, called back: “We must come together!” As she came running out, ready to throw her arms around Narcissus.

On seeing the nymph running towards him, Narcissus became affronted and pushed Echo away exclaiming: “Hands off! May I die before you enjoy my body!”

Hurt, all Echo could respond with was: “Enjoy my body.” Before she turned to flee back into the woods, rejected and humiliated by Narcissus.

Narcissus would have his own comeuppance coming and he fell in love with his own reflection in a pool. Her love unrequited, Echo watched on as Narcissus pined away for his reflection and eventually died.

It is said, that just before he died, Narcissus told his reflection: “Oh darling boy, I loved you in vain, goodbye.”

Echo repeated the words: “Good-bye.” As she herself began to fade away, her body turning to stone and all that remained of her was the sound of her voice.

Mythological Confusion

The Romans were famous for subsuming many deities in their conquest across Europe, particularly the Mediterranean area, and identifying their gods with those of a conquered culture. The most famous being the Greeks, where many deities were renamed to those of Roman gods. Prominent examples like Zeus and Jupiter, Hera and Juno, Ares and Mars, and so on down the line. Echo is one figure from Greek mythology who maintained and kept her name. Changing the names of the deities from the Roman to their Greek counterparts in other retellings can make it hard to keep track of which story is the right version. Assuming you want to go that route.

Of course, there would be confusion over the myths and stories pertaining to Echo. It all comes down to remember which are the Greek stories and which are the Roman stories. When you go by Ovid’s accounts in The Metamorphoses, you get the Roman names Jupiter and Juno. Then you go to another source such as Edith Hamilton’s Mythology, the story of Echo & Narcissus uses the Greek names of Zeus and Hera when retelling the story of Echo’s curse placed on her by an angry goddess.

There’s certainly nothing wrong with that. Most people knowledgeable about the Greco-Roman mythologies tend to want to use the Greek names. It just seems to be a disservice in the long run as no matter how similar the Greek gods are to their Roman counterparts and however much the myths often overlap, there are differences.

For Echo, I think it’s important to know the difference as when I started this thread of study into her stories, there is confusion in her story and her involvement with Pan and the later Roman stories. The Greek stories came first before the Roman ones. So, I feel it’s important to take note of this, especially as Echo seems to be one of Pan’s real loves and not a momentary infatuation that sees him endlessly chasing after the nymphs.