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This paper compares three similar yet distinct philosophical interpretations of the mythological motif of Narcissus admiring his reflection in water. Since these interpretations span a period of fifteen centuries, they are bound to appear in different types of philosophical discourse: In Plotinus’ Enneads, where the motif of a beautiful image in the water appears without Narcissus’ being actually named, the myth is used as metaphor of the soul seduced by sensible beauty; in Ficino’s commentary to Plato’s Symposium...