ECHO, in Greek mythology, one of the Oreades or mountain’ nymphs. The word denotes mere sound; and the stories told of her are so transparent that they can scarcely be said to belong to the class of fully-developed myths. As Selene to the Greek was clearly the moon, so Echo was the being who could not speak until she was spoken to, and then could only repeat the last words of the speaker. This penalty is said to have been inflicted upon her by Hera, whom the nymph by her chatter had prevented from discovering the sports of Zeus among her sister Oreades. Another tale relates that Echo fell in love with Narcissus, who was deaf to her entreaties, and that in her grief she wasted away until nothing remained but her bones and her voice. The name Narcissus, again, denotes one who is oppressed by lethargy, and thus the story becomes a counterpart to that of Selene and Endymion. Another legend speaks of her as being loved by Pan, the Latin Favonius, the soft and purifying breeze, and represents her lover as seeking in vain to see her form, although everywhere he hears her voice.—Ovid, Met. iii. 356 et seq. ; Paus. ix. 31, 6.

For Echo, in physics, see Acoustics, vol. i. p. 107.