Name: Kassandra
Born: Troy, Turkey, 1250 B.C.E.
Died: Mycenae, Greece,1219 B.C.E
The mythology of Kassandra, daughter of King Priam of Troy and his wife Hecuba, twin sister of Helenus, is widely recognized as an important cross section of the Greek legend, having been documented in the classics Homer’s Iliad, and Aeschylus Agamemnon, as well as in Les Troyens, an opera by French composer Hector Berlioz in the 19th century. However, the stories told in classic literature, grand opera, and on the silver screen differ greatly from the actual, documented history of Kassandra, The Greek Oracle. An ancient document entitled,
Cassandra trajik hikayesi, adları geçen Kral Priamos kızı (The Tragic Tale of Kassandra, daughter of King Priam), was discovered in 1930 by Doctor Standiford Watts, O.B.E., a Welsh archaeologist. His translation of the work is as follows:
Among the most beautiful of King Priam’s eighteen daughters was Kassandra. While in the womb, she was said to have been touched by Zeus, who promised her mother Hecuba, that Kassandra would lead an extraordinary life, one day joining the Gods at Mount Olympus. On the day of her birth, he sent three of his daughters to visit the infant Kassandra, and bestow upon her the gifts of Olympus. The Goddess Aphrodite laid her hand upon her heart, gifting her with divine beauty. The Goddess Athena laid her hand upon her head, giving her the wisdom of the Gods. The Goddess Artemis laid her hand upon her feet, giving her the protection of Olympus. As Kassandra grew into a young woman, her sister Laodice, whose beauty was said to be second only to Kassandra’s, grew more and more jealous.
Laodice’s hatred reached a breaking point when Kassandra was chosen over Laodice to serve as a priestess to Apollo. Her heart twisted with rage at having been overlooked for the honor, she sought an audience with Apollo. Laodice falsely advised Apollo of her sister’s boasts that her beauty was such that even Apollo would not dare to approach her, much less attempt to prove his carnal masculinity if Kassandra lay herself before him. Apollo, furious at these claims, visited his temple that very night and confronted Kassandra. As Kassandra prepared a sacrifice to Apollo, he descended upon her. He dared her to repeat her boasts in his presence. Kassandra, terrified at his advances, pleaded with Apollo to show mercy. She begged him to listen to her instead of the lies spouted by her sister Laodice, but her pleas and cries fell upon deaf ears. Apollo attempted to force himself upon her to prove to her that he was indeed a masculine God, but she struggled fiercely to wrest himself from his grasp. Finally, Apollo relented, but before he did, he spit into Kassandra’s mouth, removing from her the gifts that she had been granted by his Goddess sisters.
As Apollo flew back to Olympus, Kassandra writhed on the floor of his temple, her body in agony, as her skin began to darken, and crack. Her beautiful eyes faded, the pigment replaced with milky, white cataracts. Her long, wavy hair turned gray and stood out from her head like the branches of a thorn bush. Kassandra crawled from the temple, pleading with the Gods to have mercy upon her as she had performed no evil on any living thing. The Gods’ silence was deafening as Kassandra lie in the grass at the entrance of the temple. Surprisingly, it was the Gorgon Medusa who showed Kassandra the mercy the Gods had refused her. Her heart filled with pity for Kassandra, whose beauty had been torn away just as easily as it had been granted. Medusa plucked a snake from her crown, and instructed the snake, Giana Deite, to find Kassandra and always whisper the future into her ear, guarding her from future treachery and betrayal.
After that day, Kassandra was slowly driven mad as she would speak the prophecies that Giana Deite would whisper to her, but none who listened to her prophecies believed her. The people of Troy rejected her as she had rejected Apollo. Even Priam and Hecuba began to ridicule their daughter for having allowed such treachery to befall her. As time went on, Kassandra became increasingly bitter at the Trojan people, for each prophecy she spoke, each came to fruition, and yet the only time she was ever believed was when she predicted that the warrior Paris was the son of Priam, and that his abduction of Helen would begin the Trojan War. When Paris embarked on Troy accompanied by Helen, Kassandra attacked her, clawing at her eyes and clutching at her throat. Kassandra was torn away from Helen and thrown into the lower chambers of the palace where she would stay until the Greeks offered the gift of a giant horse to the people of Troy.
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From the Diary of Standiford Watts O.B.E.
Entry: 1932/05/19
After having translated the ancient document chronicling the life of Kassandra, daughter of Priam, King of Troy, I am perplexed as to whether I have read an eyewitness account of the Fall of Troy, or if I have been reading a story as fantastical as all of Greek mythology. One fact leads me to consider this horrific tale with trepidation, however. Less than half a decade ago, the Mycenaean palace, thought to have belonged to Agamemnon, contained wall carvings illustrating the sacking of Troy, and the torturous treatment of one of their prisoners, a woman, her feet floating above the ground, a snake (Giana Deite?) curled around her neck. The Greeks had abducted this woman and tied her to a rack, thick ropes attached to each arm and each leg, the snake, torn in half, draped over her torso. The last carving illustrated the thick ropes, once taught, now hanging to the floor, the woman’s arms and legs attached to the nooses that once held her limbs in place. The drawing depicted her torso and her face, eyes open, mouth agape, her unearthly shriek forever frozen in ancient history.
I cannot help but wonder if the spirit of Kassandra, once the most beautiful woman in all of Troy, and later a pawn of the Gods, and at the end, a monster, created by the will of the Trojan citizenry, still remains among us. Sometimes I can’t help but question my own skills as a logician and wonder if when the future seems to be well within my grasp, I do not arrive at that predicted future with the spirit of Kassandra over my shoulder, repeating the words that Giana Deite whispers in her ear.
When Kassandra heard the rumbling of the wheels of the Trojan Horse as it entered the walls of the palace, she pleaded with the guards to allow her to speak to her father. They did as she asked, and was led to her Father, King Priam. She explained to her Father that she had foreseen the coming of the Greek Hoplites inside the belly of the Trojan Horse. Once again, the king refused her counsel and warned her that she would do nothing more to embarrass the throne. Kassandra left the throne room for the stables where she pilfered an axe and a torch. As she stepped into the courtyard, she began running toward the Trojan Horse. Upon Zeus’ name it was as if Hermes had offered to her the wings of his own heels as she seemed to float towards the Trojan Horse, intent to be the savior of Troy, axe held high above her head. Before she could swing even once, a group of Trojan warriors intercepted her, throwing her to the ground. A group of nearby citizens crowded around her, cursing and spitting at her.
As Kassandra suffered these indignities, the Goddess Athena, who had been watching the assault on Troy intently, having suffered her own indignities from Kassandra’s brother, the mortal Paris, spoke to Kassandra, imbuing in her the heart of a warrior and the strength of a God. Kassandra turned on the people of Troy as the Greek Hoplites began to exit the Trojan Horse. The first of the Trojan citizens to receive her wrath was Schylius, a blacksmith, broad and strong. Her axe tore downward through his neck and deep into his chest, splitting him almost in two. She continued to swing wildly, caring not whether she was inflicting her rage upon Greek or Trojan, cursing those who had shunned and ridiculed her. The Trojan guard, so distracted by Kassandra’s massacre, ignored the Hoplites, who were murdering half the number that Kassandra was alone.
Finally the axe was wrested away from her and she was subdued, held to the ground by a number of soldiers. The ground beneath them began to quake as an unearthly shriek escaped from Kassandra’s mouth. As if resurrected by Terra herself, Kassandra threw off the soldiers and floated above them. Bolts of fire erupted from her palms, engulfing any poor fool who stood witness to her horrors. A group of archers, inspired by Apollo’s fury towards Kassandra, took their place, aiming at Kassandra’s back, and let fly a volley of arrows at the demoness that Kassandra had become. Guided by the whispering of Giana Deite’s forked tongue in her ear, Kassandra turned and raised her arms to the heavens. Each arrow stopped and hung in the air, as if time had ceased at Kassandra’s will. The arrows fell to the earth as Kassandra bellowed, and waved her arm at the turrets hiding the archers. The turrets began to crumble, followed by the columns below, as Kassandra guided no force of nature ever witnessed. The archers were crushed beneath the stone of the palace. Kassandra waved her other arm, and another set of failing columns brought the palace to the ground. She stood, feet above the ground, her arms spread in victorious splendor, as Troy fell beneath her.
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