Ancient Greece gave us many fascinating myths, the reading of which allows us to better understand people of antiquity, their attitude to life and the world around them. Often in these works, the characters are simultaneously powerful gods and ordinary mortals, to whom communication with the inhabitants of Olympus “gave” a lot of problems. Consider who Cassandra is in Greek mythology, what is the tragedy of her fate.
Origin
The beautiful Cassandra was the daughter of the semi-mythical king Troy Priam and his wife Hekuba. The girl’s mother gave birth to her husband 19 or 20 sons, the eldest of whom was the mighty Hector, a strong and courageous warrior who died in a mortal battle with invincible Achilles. Also the brother of the heroine of the material is the windy prince Paris, through whose fault the bloody Trojan War unfolded. The young man abducted Helen, the wife of the Spartan king Menelaus, which was the reason for the conflict. Another daughter of Priam and Hekuba is Polyxena, the beloved of Achilles, sacrificed on his grave. Cassandra also had Gelen's twin brother.
Therefore, the question "who is Kassandra" can be answered simply: this is a Trojan princess, the daughter of Priam and his wife. However, this girl went down in history for a completely different reason.
Gift of Apollo
The beauty of Priam's daughter captivated the heart of the god of art, and he endowed his beloved with the gift of divination. However, the girl deceived God and did not reciprocate, why the insulted resident of Olympus severely punished her - no one believed the words of the soothsayer. Who is Cassandra in mythology? This is a poor fortune teller, whom everyone laughed at, considering her crazy. The girl was forced to suffer - she knew the future, but was not able to change anything. According to one version of the myth, at the behest of Apollo, the beauty was doomed to celibacy.
There is another option for the girl to have the gift of foresight. Once Cassandra and her twin brother Gehlen fell asleep in the temple of Apollo, and the sacred snakes, licking the ears of the girl, gave her the opportunity to see the future. But this version does not explain why no one took the words of the fortuneteller seriously.
Predictions
To understand who Kassandra is in Ancient Greece, what is her role, data on the girl’s predictions will help. Fate herself spoke through her lips, warned the Trojans, but no one listened to the seer. So, what was the beauty warning about?
- It was she who first recognized Prince Paris, her brother, who was destined to cause the death of Troy, and tried to kill him, but was defeated.
- He warned his brother that beautiful Elena would cause bloody battles, but no one listened. The father locked his daughter in anger and decided that she was crazy.
- I guessed the trick with the Trojan horse and begged not to bring him outside the gates of Troy, but again was not taken seriously.
After the death of Troy, its inhabitants remembered the girl’s predictions, but it was too late.
Fate after the fall of Troy
When answering the question of who Kassandra is, one should mention other facts of her difficult fate. After the fall of her hometown, about which she knew and which she was trying to prevent, the story of the heroine of myths did not end. She was waiting for a whole string of tragedies:
- After the capture of Troy, the Greek Ajax abused Kassandra, who in vain sought salvation in the temple of the goddess Athena.
- Later, the beauty went to the brother of Menelaus, Mycenaean king Agamemnon, who made her his mistress, during the division of the booty.
- Wanting to make a sacrifice on the grave of the fallen Achilles, the Greeks first considered the candidacy of Cassandra. However, her sister Polyxena was killed.
Agamemnon brought the girl to Sparta, where she remained his concubine, causing jealousy of the king’s wife, Clytemnestra. Ancient authors mention that twins were born to the captive prophetess and her lover, after which the offended Clytemnestra killed Kassandra and her children with her own hands. The king himself was also killed, killed by his wife's lover, Aegisthus.
The jealous after this did not live long, falling at the hands of her own children. According to one version, it was revenge for the murder of Agamemnon, according to another - the children acted at the behest of Apollo, who could not forget his beloved.
So, who is Kassandra in ancient Greece? This is a beautiful girl of noble birth, who was not afraid to reject the love of God and was severely punished for it. Many ancient authors sympathetically describe the fate of the unfortunate.
Common noun
The question "who is Cassandra" can be answered a little differently. In the modern world, the name of a girl has become a household name and means a harbinger of grief and misfortune. In psychology, there is the concept of "Cassandra complex." Its essence is that a person begins to fall into hysteria when no one believes his words (in the truth of which he is sure).
Cassandra played a special role in the mythology and works of ancient writers, however, more modern authors often used her image in their works. Everywhere the figure of a beautiful girl is painted in tragic shades, causing sympathy.