Echo

Have you ever yelled out a word or phrase and had your words echo back to you? Maybe you have shouted “hello” or perhaps you have said your name, and you were able to hear the words resonate all around you. When this happens, people today say they are listening to their echo. But where did the word echo come from?

In Greek mythology, Echo was a nymph or goddess of the mountains. Echo was also considered to be very beautiful and extremely talkative. Her voice is what is known most about her because this is what caused her to be cursed.

According to one ancient myth of Echo, the nymph talked so much to the goddess Hera, the wife of Zeus, that she could not concentrate. Hera, who was a jealous wife, spent much of her time keeping an eye on her husband. By watching him, she hoped to keep him faithful to her. Echo’s constant talking made it impossible for Hera to keep an eye on her husband. In her anger over her inability to stop her husband from being unfaithful to her, Hera cursed the beautiful Echo.

Hera’s punishment was to change Echo’s speaking ability. Hera cursed Echo to a life where the only way she could speak was to repeat someone else’s words. Today, when we hear our own words repeated, we instantly recognize the sound as our echo. The next time you hear your echo, remember the curse of Echo, and listen carefully as “she” repeats your words!