Cassandra

Cassandra

Cassandra or Kassandra (Ancient Greek: Κασσάνδρα, pronounced [kas̚sándra], also Κασάνδρα), also known as Alexandra, was a daughter of King Priam and of Queen Hecuba of Troy in Greek mythology. Cassandra was cursed to utter prophecies that were true but that no one believed. The older and most common versions state that she was admired by the god Apollo, and he offered her the gift to see the future in order to win her heart. Cassandra agreed to be his lover in return for his gift, but after receiving the gift, she went back on her word and refused him. Apollo was angered that she lied and deceived him, but since he couldn't take back a gift already given, he cursed her that though she would see the future accurately, nobody would ever believe her prophecies. Some of the later versions have her falling asleep in a temple, where snakes licked (or whispered in) her ears so that she could hear the future.Cassandra became a figure of epic tradition and of tragedy. In modern usage her name is employed as a rhetorical device to indicate someone whose accurate prophecies are not believed by those around them.

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