Greek Mythology: Cassandra

Cassandra's Genealogy

Genealogy

• Daughter of the king and queen of Troy
• One of 100 children
• Had a twin brother named Helenus (Greek Legends and Myths)

greekmyths-interpertation.com

Cassandra's Physical Appearance

Physical Appearance

Greek Myths and Greek Mythology

• Most beautiful of the king's children (Greek Myths & Greek Mythology)
• Red hair
• Astonishingly beautiful, making Apollo fall in love with her (Greek Legends and Myths)

Personality

Personality

Dreamstime.com

• Felt alone
• Fun and compassionate
• Tried to hide her anger (Greek Godesses Wikki)
• She had the gift of prophecy
• Could predict what would happen
• Felt ignored (Gale)

Cassandra's Role in the Trojan War

Role

• She warned people what would happen during the Trojan War
• She was never listened to
• Told them about the wooden horse
• She could not prevent what was going to happen
• Powerless (Hamilton, 211-212)

Greek Mythology

Cassandra's Connection to the Modern Wolrd

• Inspired the Cassandra complex
• Books inspired by her (Learning Mind)

Modern Connection

HubPages

Works Cited

Works Cited

Works Cited

"Cassandra." Myths and Legends of the World, edited by John M. Wickersham, Macmillan Reference USA, 2000. Gale in Context: High School, link.gale.com/apps/doc/EJ2134050092/GPS?u=troy24463&sid=bookmark-GPS&xid=ca86909c. Accessed 26 Jan. 2023.

Greek Goddesses Wikki. greekgoddesses.fandom.com/wiki/Cassandra.

"Cassandra is a mortal princess, and she is friends with many immortals. She once held a grudge against Aphrodite, Athena and Apollo. Also known as the three A's. Aphrodite caused the war because of the Trojan's early ruler, Paris, who rewarded her a golden apple. She wanted to repay him with something, so she helped him find his true love, causing a war to start. The Trojans lost the war because of Athena's Trojan horse, and the Olympians took them by surprise.

Apollo was by far the worst. He cast a spell and made everyone think that her fortunes were lies. Later on, snakes licked her ears to make her "smell" the future, in different scents. She isn't exactly a goddess, but she is too good at fortune telling. Tyche is the original goddess but is a Titan. "

Greek Legends and Myths. www.greeklegendsandmyths.com/cassandra.html. Accessed 26 Jan. 2023.

"Cassandra would grow up to become the most beautiful of all of King Priam's daughters and as a result she had many potential suitors, both mortal and immortal. Zeus was of course well known for keeping an eye out for beautiful mortals, but in the case of Cassandra it was actually his son Apollo who vied for the daughter of Priam; and in the most common version of the Cassandra myth, it is Apollo who enables Cassandra to see into the future. In this version of the story, Apollo, smitten with the beauty of Cassandra, attempts to seduce the mortal princess. To help sway Cassandra, Apollo offers up the gift of prophecy, a gift which Cassandra willingly accepts. Having accepted the gift though, Cassandra then rebuts the sexual advances of Apollo. A spurned Apollo could have simply taken Cassandra's new ability away from her, but in an act of vengeance, Apollo instead decides to curse the woman who spurned him. Thus, from that day on, Cassandra's prophecies would always come to pass, but no one would ever believe her predictions. Subsequently, Cassandra would then teach her twin brother Helenus how to see in the future, and so good was Cassandra as a tutor that Helenus' predictions would also always come true, although of course, Helenus' would be believed."

Greek Mythology. www.greekmythology.com/Myths/Mortals/Cassandra/cassandra.html.

"Cassandra was the daughter of King Priam and Queen Hecuba, lords of Troy, in Greek mythology. She was also known as Alexandra. According to one myth, god Apollo gave her the gift of foretelling the future and then tried to sleep with her. However, she rejected him and to punish her, he cursed her so that no one would ever believe her prophecies. A different version has it that Cassandra initially consented to sleeping with the god in exchange for the ability to oresee the future, only to break her promise after she received the gift. After being cursed, she was met with disbelief by her family and by the Trojans. She foretold that Paris, her brother, would bring about a war that would destroy their city, if he went to Sparta. Her brother did not believe her, and upon his return from Sparta with Menelaus' wife, Helen, Cassandra attacked her for the pain that was about to be caused. She also foretold that Troy would fall by a clever machination of the Greeks, the Trojan Horse, in which they would hide; her fellow citizens did not listen to her words, thus causing the end of the city. After the fall of Troy, she was taken by Agamemnon back to his home; despite Cassandra's warnings about the plots of Agamemnon's wife, Clytemnestra, he went back home where he was murdered by his wife and her lover, Aegisthus. When she died, her soul was sent to the Elysian Fields, a place in the Underworld where the worthy souls rested."

Source: https://www.greekmythology.com/Myths/Mortals/Cassandra/cassandra.html

Hamilton, Edith, and Steele Savage. Mythology. Boston, Little, Brown, 1942.

"Cassandra, one of Piram's daughters, was a prophetess. Apollo had loved her and given her the power to foretell the future. Later he turned against her because she refused his love, and although he could not take back his gift-divine favors once bestowed might not be revoked-he made it of no account; no one ever believed her." (Hamilton, 211).

Learning Mind. www.learning-mind.com/cassandra-complex/.

"The Cassandra complex is the name given to a phenomenon where people who predict bad news or warnings are ignored or outright dismissed.

The term 'Cassandra complex' has entered the lexicon in 1949 when a French philosopher discussed the potential for someone to predict future events.

The complex has been used in wide-ranging contexts. This includes psychology, the circus, the corporate world, environmentalism (and science in general), and philosophy."