By Allison and Michelle
Narcissus flowers, also known as daffodils, are some of the first flowers to be seen during spring and are a sign that winter is over. For this reason, they are seen to represent rebirth and new beginnings. In addition, it is also one of the symbols of NLCS, as it was the favourite flower of Francis Mary Buss, the school’s founder. Therefore, it is no surprise that the flowers have a rich origin story.
The species name for daffodils is Narcissus Pseudonarcissus, which comes from a well-known myth in Greek mythology.
Narcissus was the son of the river god Cephissus and the nymph Liriope. In the tale, Narcissus was a handsome man of great self-love, who belittled those who loved him. When Narcissus was walking in the woods, Echo, a mountain nymph, caught sight of him and fell in love with his beauty. However, when she revealed her feelings towards him, he rejected her with rough words and told her to leave him alone, which left the poor nymph heartbroken. Hearing the news, Nemesis, the goddess of revenge, decided to punish Narcissus by drawing him to a pond where he saw his reflection. He did not realise it was only his own reflection and fell deeply in love with it, as if it were another young man. Unable to look away from his reflection, after staring at it for a few days he grew exhausted, fell into the stream, and drowned.
Echo and Narcissus By John William Waterhouse,1903
This painting shows a scene where Echo watches Narcissus falling in love with his own reflection in the water. As they commonly grow on the banks of streams and rivers, which is where Narcissus perished, daffodils were named after him
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