I’m not sure our very stable genius is familiar with any of the stories of Greek mythology. However, I have a friend who works in the White House. She essentially cleans up the living quarters of the president. Often, she will read a story to him as the staff prepares to tuck him in for the night.

While chatting with my friend on WhatsApp last week, I suggested that she add two Greek tragedies to her reading list for Trump. The two Greek myths are about Narcissus and Achilles.

Narcissus (Νάρκισσος) was a troubled young man. He was the child of Liriope, a nymph, and Cephissus, the god of the river. Narcissus’ character flaw was that of being self-absorbed. Nemesis, a Greek goddess, punished those who were egotistical and filled with hubris. Narcissus admired himself so much that he couldn't stop looking at his reflection in the pool of water.

Caravaggio’s painting of Narcissus admiring himself

This painting is a 21st-century version of Caravaggio’s Italian Renaissance painting.

Today’s Caravaggio painting

Less poetically, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) categorizes narcissistic personality disorder (301.81) based upon over a dozen different behavior traits:

• Having an exaggerated sense of self-importance
• Expecting to be recognized as superior even without achievements that warrant it
• Exaggerating your achievements and talents
• Being preoccupied with fantasies about success, power, brilliance, beauty or the perfect mate
• Believing that you are superior and can only be understood by or associate with equally special people
• Requiring constant admiration
• Having a sense of entitlement
• Expecting special favors and unquestioning compliance with your expectations
• Taking advantage of others to get what you want
• Having an inability or unwillingness to recognize the needs and feelings of others
• Being envious of others and believing others envy you
• Behaving in an arrogant or haughty manner

What is fascinating is that those suffering from narcissism cannot relate to those less enamored since they don’t live up to the narcissist's standards of perfection. Tragically, narcissists also can’t identify with other people. Therefore, they are indifferent to the needs and wants of others. Narcissus remained at the pool of water, admiring himself until he died. At death, he was replaced by a flower named after him, the Narcissus Daffodil.

Narcissus Daffodil

The second Greek mythological person that our Felon President needs to understand is Achilles. Achilles was the greatest warrior of the Greek army in the Trojan War. He was born to King Peleus and Thetis, a sea nymph. Thetis wanted to protect her newborn. So, she dipped him into the River Styx, which had magical powers that made him invulnerable.

Achilles’s baptism in the River Styx

While the story of Achilles’s mother lovingly performs, what we would call a mythological Greek baptism, the fatal flaw was that Achilles had one heel, which wasn’t immersed in the River Styx. The Greek tragedy that originated 1200 BCE became the proverbial term, Achilles’ heel.

In the time of the Trojan War, various stories developed regarding the death of Achilles. One was that Apollo assisted Paris’s arrow at the heel of Achilles, which wasn’t dipped into the River Styx. Without the magical protective waters, Achilles died.

Achilles heel

What intrigues me about our TWRAE President (Trump Was Right About Everything) is that he inadvertently combined the stories of Narcissus and Achilles. That was a fatal mix for Trump, who is a narcissistic person and feels invincible.

This essay isn’t designed to wake up Trump to the real world. He parallels Narcissus in that he can’t help but think about his grandiosity. Trump will remain in love with his reflection in the water, but he will die thinking he is invincible.

This article was written for the rest of us. We need to wake before it is too late to do so. My grandmother would often remind her grandchildren, while taking care of us, with this one-liner: “I love me, I think I’m grand when I go to heaven, I’ll hold my hand.” It was her style of reminding us that we were getting too big for our britches.

Take my grandmother’s advice. If you need another one-liner to nudge you into reality, heed my one-liners: “It is in giving that we get.”