How narcissism came to be
Success is important, but it is meaningless if we lose ourselves.
Apollo, the Olympian god of music, poetry, art, oracles, archery, plague, medicine, sun, light and knowledge had a lonely heart. Try as he might, he could not find a love to truly open up his heart.
One day as he sat spinning and weaving poetry, art, light and knowledge to the distant peoples of the worlds, his eyes beheld Ajannia as she walked alone by the seashore down on Earth.
He looked deep into her heart and saw her loneliness, his heart ached for her.
Down he flew, forgetting all the hopeful babies eagerly awaiting their artistic gifts at the moment when they were first born. Not being given their gift at that point, these children would grow up to wander hither and thither, ever being unsure of what their lot in life should actually be.
Ajannia fell completely in love with Apollo, who had transformed himself into human form, thus bewitching the young woman and together they formed a loving union.
From this union Jana, a son, was born.
Apollo disappeared one day, never to be seen again. Ajannia walked the seashore every day, seeking her love and growing sadder and sadder as time went by. She loved her son, and doted on him, yet she pined for her lost love. The child grew tall, robust and extremely handsome.
Up on Mount Olympus, Zeus found out what Apollo had done. Unions with the people of Earth were strictly forbidden.
Zeus cursed Apollo to never fall in love again for a thousand years. In his anger, he also cursed Jana with the inability to love anyone else but himself.
Poor Jana's love turned inward upon himself. He was half man, half God, he told everyone who would listen. Soon everyone stopped listening. Only his mother took the time to listen, and even this love got tired of hearing the same story every day.
Jana became a famous actor. The theatres were full for a while. Then, as the curse kept getting stronger and he loved himself even more, he lost all of his doting audience.
Soon, the theatres were all empty.
Narcissism had reached its full potential.
Aphrodite, the Goddess of love, lust, beauty, pleasure, procreation and highest of all, passion, could not bear to see the confusion of Jana. One of the unfortunate traits of narcissism is the inability to comprehend why everyone does not love them as they do themselves.
So she imbued the same trait into a partner for Jana. The two were happy together, living in total oblivion of the feelings of others or even for each other. They bonded over the sameness of each other. As their children bore children and grandchildren, narcissism spread to entire worlds.
The worlds were going to need more mirrors.
..............................................................................................
About the Creator
Novel Allen
Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky. ~~ Rabindranath Tagore~~
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Comments (7)
Novel this was so creative and such a great tale to tell! It felt very fable-like in the sense that it had a beautiful lesson embedded within about the importance of not giving into the temptation of greed or how actions have consequences! Great work!
Brilliant entry! Lord knows we need a cure for this plague quick fast and in a hurry! This was thought-provoking and beautifully-crafted! I still need to do more thought on what the actual cure for narcissism is? What do u think it is Novel?
Omgggg, that makes so much sense! I loveeeeee how you were able to come up with this! So creative!
Nice one. The topic of narcissism is so relevant. This made it a nice story
Cool idea for the myth! “The world was going to need more mirrors”!! 👏😂
Dear Queen 'N' ~ So who says Narcissism is a bad thing - Self admiration oftentimes keeps us in check - So glad that you could relate to 'Cultural Exchange' it's so marvelous since Vocal linked us Globally that we all really relate - Cultures are all Alike - Same Values ~ Sometimes different recipes ~ - Your Zillionth+1 Biggest Fan - J-Bud
Another lovely myth, lots of truth and thought to this one! Thanks.