ECHO
Real Name: Echo
Identity/Class: Olympian goddess/Nymph (active since Post-Hyborian era)
Occupation: Nature spirit, Attendant of Hera
Group Membership: The Oreades (mountain nymphs)
Affiliations: Olympian gods, Narcissus, Oreades (mountain nymphs), Gaea
Known Relatives: Penaeus (father), the Oreades (sisters), Lambe, Lynx (daughters fathered by Pan), Achelous (uncle), Oceanus (grandfather), Tethys (grandmother), Ouranus (great-grandfather), Gaea (great-grandmother)
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Mount Helicon in Boeotia (Now part of Modern Greece)
First Appearance: Venus#3/3 (December, 1948)
Powers/Abilities: Echo possesses the conventional attributes of the Olympian gods along with certain faerie attributes due to her nature as a nymph, a nature divinity. Her full powers and abilities are as yet undefined, but she probably possessed the attributes of a typical Olympian goddess, including superhuman strength (Class 25 possibly), endurance, immortality and resistance to injury. She was gifted with great beauty and voice to match. However, she was cursed by Hera to only speak by repeating the last words of those talking to her.
History:
(Greek-Roman myth) – Echo was one of the Oreades, daughters of the river-god, Penaeus. The Oreades were nymphs, Olympian faeries who frolicked in the vicinity of Mount Helicon in Western Boeotia where the waters of their father descended. She often accompanied the Olympian gods and goddesses, particularly, Hera, the Queen of the Gods, entertaining them with her great voice and storytelling. Zeus often came down from Mount Olympus to spend time with her and the other Oreades to have affairs with them. Suspicious of Zeus’ philandering, Hera met up on Earth with Echo who proceeded to captivate her with a story. At the request of Zeus, she was convinced to divert Hera’s attention while he made his escape. Sensing duplicity on Echo’s part, Hera placed a curse on the beautiful Nymph’s voice causing her to forever repeat the words from others instead of her own.
(Greek-Roman myth) – After being constantly pursued by Pan, she mated with him and gave birth to Lambe and Lynx.
(Greek-Roman myth) – Eventually, Echo fell in love with Narcissus who was the son of the river god Cephisseus and Leirope, one of the Nereides, who were ocean-nymphs. Narcissus spurned her advances because he had become so infatuated with his own image that he could not spend time with another being. Echo returned to the forest heartbroken and lonely and prayed to the goddess, Nemesis, who heard her pleas and placed a curse on the handsome Narcissus. When he leaned over to drink from a spring, he saw his reflection in the water and due to the curse, believed he had finally found someone worthy of himself. He stayed by the spring talking to his image as Echo’s voice repeated back his words. Narcissus eventually fell into the water and drowned while trying to reach his reflection. His spirit took the form of the flower named narcissus near the spring.
(Greek-Roman myth) – The incident with Narcissus made Echo bitter and she scorned the love of any man or god. This angered Pan who was quite smitten with her and he ordered his followers to kill the nymph. After having captured her they then proceeded to dismember her body and scatter it across the world. Gaea, showing compassion, gathered her pieces and returned her spirit to life to forever haunt the mountains and valleys with her voice.
(Venus#3/3) – Venus briefly retold the story of Echo and also mentions her as being one of her close friends.
Comments: Created by unaccredited writer and artist
Additional info from Crowell’s Handbook of Classical mythology by Edward Tripp
In Greek Mythology, the nymphs are faerie-divinities descended from the river-gods, and sometimes were elevated to the status of gods, notably Thetis, mother of Achilles, and Calypso, beloved of Odysseus. They were often taken as brides by mortals and became ancestors of the ancient Greek kings, like Io, ancestor of the royal families of Argos, Thebes and Crete.
There are three rivers named Penaeus in Greece: one in Elis to the West (re-routed by Hercules through the Augean Stables), one in Thessaly to the north and reportedly one in Western Boeotia.
Profile by AvatarWarlord72 with mythological supplement by William Uchtman
CLARIFICATIONS:
Echo has no known connection to:
images:
Venus#3, p18, pan4 (main image)
Appearances:
Venus#3 (December, 1948) - Stan Lee (editor)
First Posted: 03/05/2008
Last updated: 03/05/2008
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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