?Question: Trace the significance and similarity between Ovid’s myth of Narcissus and the Character of Oedipus. Thesis Statement: The following essay examines the similarities between the two plays Oedipus written by Sophocles and the Myth of Narcissus and Echo by Publius Ovidius Naso (Ovid) this essay will also outline the significance of the two plays and will explore them in depth. Essay: Between the play Oedipus and the myth of Narcissus and Echo there are many similarities and these are listed below: In the play, “Oedipus Rex” written by “Sophocles” it is easy to see that the baseline is one of destiny vs. freewill. Through this theme we relate to the role of prophecy and how our lives are preplanned, even before our birth. We also realize that our destiny cannot be cheated and hence no matter what we do we must still face it. In the extract from play “TEIRESIAS:?Well, it will come what will, though I be mute.?OEDIPUS:?Since come it must, thy duty is to tell me.?TEIRESIAS:?I have no more to say; storm as thou willst,?And give the rein to all thy pent-up rage. (341-347)” Tiresias tries to show to Oedipus that no matter what Tiresias does or says destiny will play its part and will reveal itself before Oedipus. However he also states that he refuses to be a part of it, when it does so. The same concept of destiny or curse can be seen in the Myth of Narcissus. When Echo, the nymph, falls in love with Narcissus, who being very handsome does not return her affection, Echo gives up her life as she is unable to fall out of love with him. In revenge for this and to teach Narcissus a lesson, the goddess of vengeance Nemesis, plants a curse on him. As a result he falls in love with his own self by looking into his reflection in the pond owned by Echo. Moreover as he is unable to be with himself (as it is a reflection) and also unable to move his eyes from it he ultimately dies while Echo’s sprit watches it happen. This shows that in both these plays the importance of destiny and fate is very strong and the theme of that there is no free will is portrayed through the different parts. Another example form the myth of Narcissus and Echo where the lack of freewill can be seen is when both Echo and Narcissus are unable to move forward with their lives physically and mentally, and on the other hand in Oedipus Rex, Oedipus is unable to escape his fate which stated that he shall kill his father and bed his mother. Another significance and similarity that can be seen in the play is that both these characters are preys of Hubris. In Narcissus we can see that the main flaw of the protagonist was that he was proud of his beauty “Farewell, dear boy. Beloved in vain” this line is said just before Narcissus dies, showing that he was so proud of his beauty that he was willing to die for it (unwilling to have any one else except his own reflection). In Oedipus we can see that Oedipus was proud of his power "You pray to the gods? Let me grant your prayers." This quote clearly shows that Oedipus considered himself no less than the gods and this is what is seen as his proudness and arrogance. Furthermore both these quotes show that both these characters were very proud of themselves as explained earlier. Hubris in the Greek time was considered a sin