Cassandra: Greek Goddess Who Foretold Cursed Prophecies

AncientPages.com – In Greek mythology, Cassandra was the daughter of Priam and Hecuba, the king and queen of Troy.

Cassandra was the most beautiful of Priam’s daughters and God Apollo loved her. His love to her was so strong that he gave her the gift of prophecy.

With this power, Cassandra could foretell of what is to happen in the future, but she had to promise to love beautiful god Apollo.

Cassandra decided to refuse his advances and this made Apollo very angry. Unfortunately, he could not take back his gift, because divine powers once granted might not be revoked. The only thing Apollo could do was to make Cassandra’s gift of no account, so no one ever believed her.

It was god Apollo’s only revenge for what she had done to him. Now, Cassandra was cursed by him and so were her prophecies.

The Homer’s ‘Iliad’ mentions or alludes to many of the Greek legends and myths. In the famous epic, Cassandra predicted many tragic events of the Trojan War, legendary conflict between the early Greeks and the people of Troy in western Anatolia, dated by later Greek authors to the 12th or 13th century BC.

One of them is related to Priam’s son Paris who planned a trip to Sparta. Cassandra warned against this trip, but her warnings were ignored. In fact, each time she told the Trojans what would happen, they would never listen to her warnings.

Paris traveled to Sparta, where he kidnapped Helen. In Greek mythology, Helen of Troy also known as Helen of Sparta, was the daughter of Zeus. The abduction of Helen by Paris, Prince of Troy, started the Trojan War with Greece.

Another Cassandra’s prediction was also a serious warning. The prophetess predicted Troy’s defeat and warned the Trojans not to accept the Greek gift of the Trojan horse, but once again her prophecy was ignored. Greek troops hidden inside the Trojan horse suddenly appeared and captured the city of Troy.

See also:

Did The Ancient Trojan Horse Really Exist?

Graeae: Three Sisters Of Fate Who Shared One Eye And Tooth In Greek Mythology

Nemesis: Winged Goddess Of Justice And Revenge

Legendary Furies – Angry And Monstrous Women Of The Underworld

After the Greek victory, Cassandra was given as a prize to the Greek leader Agamemnon, the son of King Atreus and Queen Aerope of Mycenae. Cassandra later returned to Greece with him and their two children.

However, she also had yet another prediction in her mind; she predicted a terrible fate awaited her and Agamemnon.

And so it happened, when they reached Agamemnon’s home in Mycenae, they were both killed by Agamemnon’s wife, Clytemnestra, and her lover, Aegisthus.

Copyright © AncientPages.com All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or part without the express written permission of AncientPages.com