What is "narcissus"

Narcissus \Nar*cis"sus\ (n[aum]r*s[i^]s"s[u^]s), n.; pl. Narcissuses. [L. narcissus, and (personified) Narcissus, Gr. na`rkissos, Na`rkissos, fr. na`rkh torpor, in allusion to the narcotic properties of the flower. Cf. Narcotic.]

1. (Bot.) A genus of endogenous bulbous plants with handsome flowers, having a cup-shaped crown within the six-lobed perianth, and comprising the daffodils and jonquils of several kinds.

2. (Classical Myth.) (Capitalized)A beautiful youth fabled to have been enamored of his own image as seen in a fountain, and to have been changed into the flower called Narcissus.

type of bulbous flowering plant, 1540s, from Latin narcissus, from Greek narkissos, a plant name, not the modern narcissus, possibly a type of iris or lily, perhaps from a pre-Greek Aegean word, but associated with Greek narke "numbness" (see narcotic) because of the sedative effect of the alkaloids in the plant.

n. 1 Any of several bulbous flowering plants, of the genus ''Narcissus'', having white or yellow cup- or trumpet-shaped flowers, notably the daffodil 2 A beautiful young man, like the mythological Greek Narcissus

1. n. bulbous plant having erect linear leaves and showy yellow or white flowers either solitary or in clusters

2. (Greek mythology) a beautiful young man who fell in love with his own reflection

3. [also: narcissi (pl)]

In Greek mythology, Narcissus (; , Narkissos) was a hunter from Thespiae in Boeotia who was known for his beauty. He was the son of the river god Cephissus and nymph Liriope. He was proud, in that he disdained those who loved him. Nemesis noticed this behavior and attracted Narcissus to a pool, where he saw his own reflection in the water and fell in love with it, not realizing it was merely an image. Unable to leave the beauty of his reflection, Narcissus lost his will to live. He stared at his reflection until he died. Narcissus is the origin of the term narcissism, a fixation with oneself and one's physical appearance.

Narcissus may refer to:

Narcissus was a Roman athlete, likely a wrestler, from the 2nd century AD. He is best known to history as the assassin of the Roman Emperor Commodus, by whom he was employed as a wrestling partner, and personal trainer in order to train Commodus for his self-indulgent appearances in the Colosseum as a gladiator. In the year AD 192 he was recruited by several senators, led by Praetorian prefect Quintus Aemilius Laetus, to assassinate the emperor.

On December 31 of that same year, Commodus's concubine and conspirator Marcia admitted Narcissus into Commodus's bedchamber. Commodus was supposedly in a drunken stupor after Marcia had poisoned him and Narcissus proceeded to strangle his master in his bathtub or, according to Herodian, in his bed.

The fictional character of general Maximus Decimus Meridius (played by Russell Crowe in the movie Gladiator) was partially based on Narcissus alongside being based on Marcus Aurelius's general Marcus Nonius Macrinus, Spartacus, Cincinnatus and Maximus of Hispania.

Narcissus is a 1983 Canadian short musical and experimental film directed by Norman McLaren and produced by David Verrall, visualizing the legend of Narcissus in a modern way. It was McLaren's yet another film for the National Film Board of Canada.

Narcissus is a genus of predominantly spring perennial plants in the Amaryllidaceae (amaryllis) family. Various common names including daffodil, daffadowndilly, narcissus, and jonquil are used to describe all or some members of the genus. Narcissus has conspicuous flowers with six petal-like tepals surmounted by a cup- or trumpet-shaped corona. The flowers are generally white or yellow (orange or pink in garden varieties), with either uniform or contrasting coloured tepals and corona.

Narcissus were well known in ancient civilisation, both medicinally and botanically, but formally described by Linnaeus in his Species Plantarum (1753). The genus is generally considered to have about ten sections with approximately 50 species. The number of species has varied, depending on how they are classified, due to similarity between species and hybridization. The genus arose some time in the Late Oligocene to Early Miocene epochs, in the Iberian peninsula and adjacent areas of southwest Europe. The exact origin of the name Narcissus is unknown, but it is often linked to a Greek word for intoxicated ( narcotic) and the myth of the youth of that name who fell in love with his own reflection. The English word 'daffodil' appears to be derived from " asphodel", with which it was commonly compared.

The species are native to meadows and woods in southern Europe and North Africa with a center of diversity in the Western Mediterranean, particularly the Iberian peninsula. Both wild and cultivated plants have naturalised widely, and were introduced into the Far East prior to the tenth century. Narcissi tend to be long-lived bulbs, which propagate by division, but are also insect-pollinated. Known pests, diseases and disorders include viruses, fungi, the larvae of flies, mites and nematodes. Some Narcissus species have become extinct, while others are threatened by increasing urbanisation and tourism.

Historical accounts suggest narcissi have been cultivated from the earliest times, but became increasingly popular in Europe after the 16th century and by the late 19th century were an important commercial crop centred primarily on the Netherlands. Today narcissi are popular as cut flowers and as ornamental plants in private and public gardens. The long history of breeding has resulted in thousands of different cultivars. For horticultural purposes, narcissi are classified into divisions, covering a wide range of shapes and colours. Like other members of their family, narcissi produce a number of different alkaloids, which provide some protection for the plant, but may be poisonous if accidentally ingested. This property has been exploited for medicinal use in traditional healing and has resulted in the production of galantamine for the treatment of Alzheimer's dementia. Long celebrated in art and literature, narcissi are associated with a number of themes in different cultures, ranging from death to good fortune, and as symbols of spring. The daffodil is the national flower of Wales and the symbol of cancer charities in many countries. The appearance of the wild flowers in spring is associated with festivals in many places.

Narcissus is an open source JavaScript engine. It was written by Brendan Eich, who also wrote the first JavaScript engine, SpiderMonkey. Its name is based on the mythical figure of Narcissus, who fell in love with himself. This relates to the fact that this JavaScript engine is a metacircular interpreter, because the engine itself is also written in JavaScript, albeit using non-standard extensions that are specific to SpiderMonkey.

The Narcissus engine can be plugged into Firefox via Zaphod add-on to run scripts on web pages. Since Narcissus has a simpler code-base than "real" JavaScript engines, it can be used to prototype new language features with less effort.

Narcissus was an influential American hardcore band formed by John LaRussa and John Pope in 1998 in Canton, Ohio. Not counting John Pope (Vocals, Keyboards) and John LaRussa (Guitar), who were in the band from start to finish, members included, at various times, Justin Carroll (bass), Ray Taylor (rhythm guitar), Derek Carter (percussion), Stephen Cushman (percussion) and Josh King (bass). The band was on the now-defunct label Takehold Records before joining Century Media. A few albums were re-released through Tooth & Nail. Before breaking up the band were featured on The Vans Warped tour and were getting ready to hit Europe for their international release of Crave and Collapse, which was received well over seas. The band has been considered highly influential for their progressive and inventive style of hardcore and rock. When the band broke up in 2003, John LaRussa went on to form Inhale Exhale with Brian Pittman, a former member of Relient K. John Pope joined Symphony In Peril briefly in 2003, and six months after he joined they disbanded. There has been rumors of a reunion that's surfaced from time to time, but nothing official. Mostly due to John LaRussa's busy schedule at times and refusal to play with the band again. The band has toured with many bands including MewithoutYou, Silverstein, Bayside, Further Seems Forever, Zao, Embodyment, Shelter, and Tantrum of the Muse, Few Left Standing, and Underoath.

Narcissus is a painting by the Italian Baroque master Caravaggio, painted circa 1597–1599. It is housed in the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica in Rome.

The painting was originally attributed to Caravaggio by Roberto Longhi in 1916. This is one of only two known Caravaggios on a theme from Classical mythology, although this reflects the accidents of survival rather than the historical reality. The story of Narcissus, told by the poet Ovid in his Metamorphoses, is of a handsome youth who falls in love with his own reflection. Unable to tear himself away, he dies of his passion, and even when crossing the Styx, keeps looking at his own reflection (Metamorphoses 3:339-510).

Ovid's Narcissus was a frequent topic in literature; by example taken up by Dante (Paradiso 3.18-19) and Petrarch (Canzoniere 45-46). The story was well known in the circles of collectors, such as Cardinal Francesco Maria del Monte and the banker Vincenzo Giustiniani, in which Caravaggio was moving at this period. Caravaggio's friend, the poet Giambattista Marino, wrote a description of the topic.

The story of Narcissus was particularly appealing to artists (or at least the kind who painted for the educated tastes of patrons such as Giustiniani and Del Monte), for reasons explained by the Renaissance theorist Leon Battista Alberti: "the inventor of painting ... was Narcissus ... What is painting but the act of embracing by means of art the surface of the pool?"

Caravaggio painted an adolescent page wearing an elegant brocade doublet, leaning with both hands over the water, as he gazes at this own distorted reflection. The painting conveys an air of brooding melancholy: the figure of Narcissus is locked in a circle with his reflection, surrounded by darkness, so that the only reality is inside this self-regarding loop. The 16th century literary critic explained the contemporary thinking that the myth of Narcissus "clearly demonstrates the unhappy end of those who love their things too much."

Narcissus is a piece of music composed for the piano in 1891 by Ethelbert Nevin. It is fourth of the five pieces in the suite Water Scenes. The composer recalled the Greek myth of Narcissus and, upon rereading the story, the music came quickly. The first draft was written immediately and was revised after a break for dinner. It was then sent for publication as the composer was so confident in the work that he did not play it until receiving the proofs. When published, it was a great success, selling over 125,000 copies of sheet music and has been a musical standard ever since.

It has a simple, sweet structure which flows easily and so is a standard piece used in piano teaching.

The piece was used for a light comical duet which was recorded by Sir Norman Wisdom and Joyce Grenfell in 1952. This is also known as The Laughing Song.

It also appears (with a short conversation following it) as a track on Gorilla, the 1967 debut album of the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, and features in the queue for the Spirit of London dark ride at Madame Tussauds in London.

Narcissus is a 2012 film, written and directed by Dovile Gasiunaite. In Greek mythology, Narcissus was a handsome young man, so vain, that the gods condemned him to fall in love with his own reflection. Nowadays, Narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) is a pathological preoccupation with issues of self-importance, closely connected to ego-centrism.

In the original screenplay by Dovile Gasiunaite, Teodore is a handsome and gifted string quartet cello player, who becomes increasingly obsessed with himself. His looks, sensitivity, and talent initially draw people in, but his lack of empathy and self-obsession hurt everyone around him. Teodore abandons his family, career, and friends in his quest for an unattainable challenge. His devastating battle takes place in the dark place of his own psyche.