The story of Narcissus, as told by Ovid, is of a beautiful youth so infatuated by his own reflection that he pines away and is metamorphosed into the eponymous flower. The myth is open to many interpretations, and has inspired a number of modern and contemporary artists. This richly illustrated book explores the potency of the Narcissus myth in art, photography, installation, film and video. In Surrealism, the use of the Narcissus myth reflects a preoccupation with myth in general, and Freudian psychoanalysis in particular, in which the concept of narcissism plays a central part.