Echo was a beautiful mountain nymph who was a favorite
friend of Artemis, the goddess of the hunt and a special
protector of maidens. Echo, friendly and fun-loving, adored
talking to her many sisters and friends. Nevertheless, no
one ever complained that she talked too much, because
Echo was so much fun to be with, and everyone loved her.
One of the other nymphs was having a love affair with
Zeus, the king of the gods. Often, the couple would meet
in a secret glade in the forest, far from the jealous eyes of
Hera, Zeus’s wife. Echo did not know about the affair, and
she did not mind when her friends and sisters asked her to
stand guard outside the secret glade. She never even
thought to ask them why the glade needed guarding. All
that Echo knew was that her sisters and friends warned
her that her most important job was to keep Hera away
from the glade.
Before long, Hera heard rumors that her husband was
having an affair, and she became determined to find out
which nymph was tempting her husband away. As she
entered the forest and neared the glade, Hera saw Echo
lounging near a shady group of trees. It was clear to Echo
that Hera wanted to enter the glade, and, remembering her sisters’ warning, Echo struck up a friendly conversation
with the goddess, trying to distract her. While Echo was
busy chatting with Hera, Zeus and his lover heard Hera’s
unmistakable voice and managed to escape before they
could be discovered.
When Hera finally insisted on entering the glade and
found that her husband had gotten away, she was furious!
And even though Echo had played no part at all in Zeus’s
affair, Hera decided to punish her. In a high, shrill voice, the
queen of the gods pronounced, “Young lady, your
chattering has done you in, and you will be punished for it!
From this moment forward, the only words you will ever
be able to utter will be exactly those words, no more and
no less, that other people have said to you first.”
Echo was very upset. She had not meant to make Hera
angry. She had only been helping her sisters and friends.
Now she was burdened with an unbearable punishment,
especially for someone who loved to talk! It seemed like
nothing could be worse than silence or being doomed to
repeat someone else’s words.
Sadly, Echo left the glade, waving silently to her sisters
and friends and wondering what she was going to do.
