Who told Echo she would always have the last word but no power to speak first?

• A. Athena
• B. Demeter
• C. Hera
• D. Aphrodite

Answer: (C)

Hera is the one who imposes this specific fate on Echo. In the myth, Echo’s tendency to talk and distract Hera earlier earned her the goddess’s ire because Echo had helped Zeus with his infidelities. As punishment, Hera curses Echo so that she can only repeat others’ words and can never speak first. That means Echo will often have the last word, but she has no power to begin speaking herself. The other goddesses listed aren’t connected to this story or to Echo’s particular restriction, whereas Hera’s jealousy over Zeus’s affairs is what drives this punishment.