Character from the myths of Ancient Greece. Daughter of the king, the last ruler of Troy, and Hecuba, the second wife of Priam, sister of the Trojan hero Hector. The beloved received a prophetic gift from this god, but deceived expectations and did not reciprocate Apollo’s feelings. For this, the golden-haired god punished Cassandra, making it so that the heroine’s predictions always turned out to be true, but no one believed in them.
Compatriots took Cassandra for a madwoman, they laughed at the heroine, and no one listened to Cassandra’s tragic prophecies. However, the misfortunes that the woman predicted came true - the heroine’s family died, and the city of Troy was destroyed.
Origin story
The name Cassandra is still used in colloquial and literary speech as a common noun when someone wants to be called a messenger of misfortune. Many ancient Greek authors wrote about Cassandra and left rather contradictory information.
Describes Cassandra as the most beautiful of Priam’s daughters, but says nothing about the heroine’s prophetic gift. In the poems of the ancient Greek kiklik poets, Cassandra is already credited with a prophetic gift and it is mentioned that people do not believe the heroine’s predictions.
Aeschylus in the tragedy "Agamemnon" gives the most popular version how Cassandra acquired the gift of fortune telling. Cassandra gave her word to Apollo that she would answer the god’s love claims; in return, Apollo gave her beloved the ability to predict the future.
When the time came to pay the bills, Cassandra rejected Apollo’s love and he, angry, took revenge on the deceiver - he made sure that people did not believe Cassandra’s prophecies. The Roman Servius describes it this way: having persuaded Cassandra to kiss him, Apollo spits in the heroine’s mouth.
Later, another version of the myth spread, according to which Cassandra fell asleep in the temple of Apollo as a child. The celebration was going on and the adults forgot about the girl. While the heroine was sleeping, the sacred snakes licked her ears clean, so that the girl could “hear” what was coming. According to some authors, Apollo also doomed Cassandra to celibacy, so that she remained a virgin.
Trojan War
One of Cassandra's brothers, brought misfortune to Troy, because of him the city fell. Even before the young man was born, it was predicted that Troy would perish through his fault. Paris's parents, King Priam and Hecuba, abandoned the baby on the mountain. However, the boy survived there and went back to the city under the guise of a rootless shepherd. Cassandra was the first to recognize Paris and, foreseeing that the young man’s return would result in the destruction of Troy, she wanted to kill him. Contrary to Cassandra's premonitions, Paris is returned to the royal house.
The heroine predicts the future for Paris when he sails to Sparta, but the girl’s words are again ignored. When she arrives in Troy, Cassandra predicts that because of this woman the city will perish, but people only laughed at Cassandra and considered the heroine crazy. King Priam ordered to keep his daughter locked up.
Different authors attribute the desire to marry Cassandra to different Trojan heroes, but the groom, no matter who he was, invariably dies in battle. When the Danaans present a huge gift to the city wooden horse, Cassandra implores her compatriots not to accept the gift, because it is fraught with danger.
The prophetess’s words are again ignored and the horse is dragged inside, behind the impregnable city walls. At night, selected Greek warriors who were hiding inside the horse got out. They killed the guards, opened the city gates and let the Greek army into the city. So Troy fell.
After the city was captured, Cassandra tried to find refuge in a temple near a statue of the goddess. However, the Greek Ajax still raped the girl right at the foot of the statue, for which the angry Athena later took revenge on the Greeks, and Ajax himself died on the way home. The king saw Cassandra and set his eyes on the heroine. In order to “squeeze” the woman from Ajax, Agamemnon accused him of sacrilege and Ajax had to flee.
After the victory, the Greeks enslaved the Trojan women and divided the women among themselves as prey. Watching her compatriots cry and regret that they did not believe her, Cassandra laughed. Meanwhile, the Greeks were discussing which of the women to sacrifice, and the choice fell on Cassandra’s sister, Polyxena, since Cassandra herself had already been on the bed of Ajax and Agamemnon and was not suitable for sacrifice. Cassandra is eventually killed by Agamemnon's jealous wife, Clytemnestra.
Descriptions given by various Greek authors allow us to imagine what Cassandra looked like. A beautiful blue-eyed maiden with lush golden curls that were styled in braids. Early medieval authors described Cassandra in more detail as a light-skinned woman of small stature, round eyes and a beautiful nose.
Film adaptations
The image of Cassandra has so far appeared little on screens. In 1974, the black and white film-play “Cassandra” was released. The film was shot at the Ukrtelefilm film studio based on the work of the same name. The plot is based on the myth of the destruction of Troy. Directed by Yuri Nekrasov, the role of Cassandra was played by actress Yulia Tkachenko.
Cassandra - in ancient greek mythology Trojan princess, daughter of Priam and Hecuba. According to most myths, Cassandra had the gift of prophecy, which she received from Apollo, who sought the love of the beautiful Cassandra (in the Iliad, Cassandra is called the most beautiful of the daughters of Priam). Having received the gift of prophecy, Cassandra broke her promise to Apollo and he did not taste her love. In revenge, Apollo made sure that no one believed Cassandra's prophecies.
According to another myth, Cassandra and her twin brother Helen were once forgotten adults in the temple of Apollo and there the sacred temple snakes endowed the twins with the gift of prophecy.
Cassandra was the first to recognize her own brother in a shepherd named Paris, who came to a sports competition in Troy, and wanted to kill him in order to save Troy from future misfortunes. Then Cassandra persuaded Paris to give up his marriage to Helen. At the end Trojan War Cassandra convinced the Trojans not to introduce a wooden horse into the city. However, no one believed Cassandra’s prophecies.
Cassandra and Hector. Ancient Greek painting, 5th century BC.
On the night of the fall of Troy, Cassandra sought refuge at the altar of Athena, but Ajax the Less (not to be confused with Ajax Telamonides) raped Cassandra. For this sacrilege, Odysseus called for Ajax to be stoned, then Ajax himself resorted to protecting the altar of Athena, which the Achaeans did not dare to violate. However, punishment overtook Ajax upon returning home: Athena crashed Ajax’s ship by throwing Perun at him. Ajax escaped, clung to a rock and began to boast that he was alive against the will of the gods. Then Poseidon split the rock with his trident and Ajax died. But even after this, Ajax’s fellow countrymen, the inhabitants of Locris, atoned for Ajax’s sacrilege for a thousand years by annually sending two virgins to Troy, who served in the temple of Athena, never leaving it. This custom only ceased in the 4th century BC.
In ancient Greek mythology, Cassandra was a soothsayer who became widely famous for the fact that no one ever believed her predictions, despite the fact that they always came true. Daughter of the last Trojan king and queen, Priam and Hecuba; sister of Paris and Hector.
The amazing beauty of Cassandra, similar to the beauty of the Greek goddess Aphrodite herself, ignited love in the heart of the god Apollo, but the girl agreed to become his lover only on the condition that he endow her with the gift of divination.
Cassandra received from God what she wanted more than anything in the world, but she refused to fulfill her part of the agreement. In anger, Apollo deprived the girl of the opportunity to convince people of his prophecies, thereby fulfilling his revenge.
In addition, there is a version that God doomed the seer to celibacy. Although Cassandra rebelled against Apollo, she was constantly tormented by her own guilt towards him. She always made predictions in an ecstatic state, so no one doubted her madness.
Cassandra foresaw the death of all her loved ones and the fall of Troy, but she was simply unable to prevent anything. She was the first to recognize the unknown shepherd who had won sports competition, Paris and even tried to kill the future culprit of the coming Trojan War. Then the fortuneteller tried to persuade him to give up Elena.
Priam gave the order to lock the seer Cassandra in the tower because she predicted only misfortunes. The girl could only, sitting in captivity, mourn the bitter fate of her homeland and her people. Cassandra practically managed to become the wife of Ophrioneus, the hero who swore an oath to defeat the Greek army when Troy was under siege.
However, nothing worked out for her with her marriage, since Ophrioneus was killed by Idomeneo, the Cretan king. Cassandra was the first to announce the return of Priam from the enemy camp with the body of Hector. She predicted a great destiny in Italy for Aeneas, the only Trojan she liked. She warned about armed soldiers who hid inside the Trojan Horse.
She sought refuge in the temple of Pallas Athena during the capture of Troy, but Ajax forcibly tore her away from the statue of the goddess, and, according to one version, violated her. Cassandra went to Agamemnon, the Mycenaean king, during the division of military spoils, who made her his concubine, amazed at the beauty and dignity of the girl. She predicted the death of the Mycenaean king at the hands of Clytemnestra, his wife, as well as her own death.
Agamemnon took Cassandra with him to Greece. There she gave birth to the Mycenaean king two twin sons, whom she named Pelops and Thaledam. Caligemnestra killed Cassandra at a festival along with Agamemnon and their sons. According to one version, Agamemnon, being near death, tried to protect her, and according to another, it was she who tried to save the king’s life.
Residents of Amycles and Mycenae disputed the right to be considered the resting place of the fortuneteller in antiquity. A temple was built in Leuctra in honor of Cassandra. This circumstance allowed us to conclude that the cult of Cassandra once existed in the Peleponnese.
In ancient art and literature, the story of Cassandra gained extraordinary popularity. Most of all, painters liked to depict scenes of the kidnapping and murder of Cassandra (frescoes in Herculaneum and Pompeii, the casket of Kypsela, the painting unknown artist, which was described in the images of Philostratus, the crater of the vase painter Lycurgus).
Many Roman and Greek playwrights were attracted by the tragedy and hopelessness of the fate of the seer Cassandra - Euripides (Trojan Women), Aeschylus (Agamemnon), Seneca (Agamemnon). Cassandra also became a heroine in the learned poem of Alexander Philostratus, which was created in the Hellenistic era.
You can also find out interesting facts about Cassandra:
The still very young beauty Cassandra has a passionate admirer, and a difficult one at that.
The god Apollo the Silver-Handed himself turned his attention and feelings to her.
The still very young beauty, the Trojan princess Cassandra - the daughter of Priam and Hecuba - had a passionate admirer, and a difficult one at that. The god Apollo the Silver-Handed himself turned his attention and feelings to her. Cassandra, of course, was flattered by such attention from the Arrowhead.
Evelyn de Morgan Cassandra
However, the beauty highly valued herself and for quite a long time avoided answering about the proposed marriage. But Apollo, in turn, realizing that he was simply being led by the nose, demanded a clear and intelligible answer from the bride. Cassandra, finding herself in such a difficult position, set a condition for him: she would marry him only on one condition: if he, the patron god of the arts and divination, bestows upon her the gift of prophecy. Apollo did not contradict and gave his consent to this unusual whim of the bride.
John Collier Cassandra
Having received the gift, Cassandra resolutely refused her fiancé. Handsome Apollo had never been lucky in love before. His mortal wives were not faithful to him, and a charming nymph named Daphne even preferred to turn into a laurel rather than belong to him. Apollo's cup of patience was overflowing, and he took revenge on Cassandra by leaving her a divine gift and spitting in her face with a farewell kiss. The beauty still had the gift, but she could not use it fully, because no one believed her prophecies.
Anthony Sandys Cassandra
This is how Apollo left his gift for his beloved. They say that the vengeful, handsome Apollo imposed more than one curse on young Cassandra. By spitting in her face, he also cast a virginity spell. Cassandra had been a maid for many years. After the ten-year siege of Troy, the Phrygian prince Kareb showed interest in her and wooed her. Cassandra's youth was left behind, the Greeks pretty much pinched her once rich kingdom, her reputation was damaged, her character was no longer angelic, and the young prince was ready to take her as his wife and get involved in a war with the Achaeans for her sake.
Dante Rossetti Cassandra
Seeing a new sign that predicted her separation from Kareb, Cassandra went with prayers to Athena in her temple, but she remained completely indifferent to her prayers. The cunning Ajax the Small tracked down the queen, burst into the temple and wanted to take possession of her. Cassandra's Phrygian fiancé hastened to help her, but in the temple he fell, protecting the bride under the pressure of Greek warriors. Cassandra resisted as best she could; during the struggle, Ajax dropped the statue of the goddess, but, not paying attention to the ominous fact, he continued the fight and achieved his goal. Having received the coveted victory over Cassandra, he did not receive joy from his deed, and his comrades, seeing the broken statue of Athena, froze in horror.
Solomon Solomon Ajax the Lesser and Cassandra 1886
Cassandra, having recovered from what had happened, announced that Ajax would die soon. Although he pretended that he did not believe her, he hastened to get rid of the queen as his captive. Cassandra was right again: Ajax died very soon, drowning at sea. At the end of the war, the Trojan beauty Queen Cassandra went to the Mycenaean king Agamemnon, but his attention to the princess did not bode well. While in captivity with the Tsar, she constantly repeated the phrase “Freedom is coming.” Agamemnon was completely incomprehensible why the famous beauty kept talking about freedom from life for the two of them.
Max Klinger Cassandra
Claudia Cohen Cassandra
He liked Cassandra very much, so Cassandra arrived in Mycenae with two twin boys, the sons of Agamemnon. Apollo's spell has lost its power. The Mycenaean king returned victorious and was proud of it. Agamemnon's wife did not like this turn of events. The Mycenaean queen Clytemnestra was a very jealous and vindictive woman, although she herself was known as an unfaithful wife, but she could not forgive her husband for betrayal. Her anger towards Agamemnon and his captive was boundless, she killed the king, and a little later dealt with both Cassandra and her sons. This is exactly what the prophetess Cassandra warned Agamemnon about, but the king did not attach any importance to her words, however, this is how people always treated her prophecies; they simply did not believe her or did not take her words seriously.
Ajax and Cassandra Fresco from Pompeii
Ajax and Cassandra Ancient Greek painting 4th century BC
Ajax the Lesser and Cassandra Ancient Greek painting 5th century BC.
“Farewell - and remember me!” The prophetess Cassandra died, but before her death she managed to foretell to the vengeful Clytemnestra a very quick and terrible end to her life. The queen was seriously frightened by such a prediction of her fate. No matter how much the queen feared or took care, the prophet’s prediction still came true. Her own children, born from Agamemnon, whom she killed in a fit of jealousy, took revenge on their mother. Orestes and Electra were inspired to take this step by Apollo himself, who was haunted by the memory of his beautiful beloved Cassandra, who never became his wife.
M. Camillo Seer
Activities during life the most famous women- clairvoyants and fortune tellers are surrounded by legends. Thanks to this, many information and legends about famous oracles have been preserved to this day. It is no secret that the majority of predictors have always been female, since it is more natural for women to engage in this type of activity, because a woman has a more subtle nature than a man and her intuition is more developed. It is customary to call themfortune tellers or witches.
One of the most ancient and famous clairvoyants, about whom legends have survived to this day, was Cassandra, the seer ancient Greece. She was the daughter of the last Trojan king Priam and Queen Hecuba; sister of Paris and Hector.
The amazing beauty of the golden-haired and blue-eyed Cassandra, “like Aphrodite,” ignited the love of the god Apollo, but she agreed to become his beloved only on the condition that he endow her with the gift of prophecy. However, having received this gift, Cassandra refused to fulfill her promise, for which Apollo took revenge on her by depriving her of the ability to persuade; there is a version that he also doomed her to celibacy. Although Cassandra rebelled against God, she was constantly tormented by a feeling of guilt towards him. She uttered her prophecies in an ecstatic state, so she was considered insane.
Tragedy Cassandra was that she foresaw the fall of Troy, the death of loved ones and her own death, but was powerless to prevent them. She was the first to recognize Paris in an unknown shepherd who won a sports competition, and tried to kill him as the future culprit of the Trojan War. Later she persuaded him to give up Elena. When she tried to tell people about the upcoming tragedy, even her own father did not believe her. “The walls of Troy are strong,” he said, “and the enemies cannot reach us.” Trying to convince her compatriots, Cassandra lost her mind and became a universal laughing stock.
Since Cassandra predicted only misfortunes, Priam ordered her to be locked in a tower, where she could only mourn the coming disasters of her homeland. . ABOUT Cassandra's prophecies they remembered only when they began to come true - but nothing could be changed here. It is interesting that the death of Troy was also predicted by the priest of Apollo Calchas, and another priest, Laocoon, begged the Trojans not to bring into their city the wooden horse left by the Achaeans. But it was Cassandra who remained for centuries a symbol of the ill-fated fate of the seer.
During the siege of Troy, she almost became the wife of the hero Ophrioneus, who vowed to defeat the Greeks, but he was killed in battle by the Cretan king Idomeneo. Cassandra was the first to announce to the Trojans the return of Priam with the body of Hector from the enemy camp and predicted to Aeneas, the only Trojan hero who believed her, that a great fate was destined for him and his descendants in Italy. During the capture of Troy, she tried to find refuge in the temple of Pallas Athena, but Ajax, the son of Oileus, forcibly tore her away from the statue of the goddess and even violated her. During the division of the spoils, she became a slave of the Mycenaean king Agamemnon, who was touched by her beauty and dignity and made her his concubine. Later, while with Agamemnon in Greece, Cassandra gave birth to two twin sons from him - Teledamus and Pelops - and predicted his death at the hands of his wife Clytemnestra and her own death. Her last prophecies came true and at a festival in the royal palace in Mycenae, she was killed along with Agamemnon and her sons. According to one version, the mortally wounded Agamemnon tried to protect her, according to another, she herself rushed to his aid.
The story of Cassandra was extremely popular in ancient art and literature. The hopelessness and tragedy of the fate of the Trojan prophetess often attracted Greek and Roman playwrights, and painters preferred to depict the scene of her abduction from the temple by Ajax and the scene of her murder.