Cassandra
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Cassandra
(kəsăn`drə), in Greek legend, Trojan princess, daughter of Priam and Hecuba. She was given the power of prophecy by Apollo, but because she would not accept him as a lover, he changed her blessing to a curse, causing her prophecies never to be believed. While seeking refuge from the Greeks during the Trojan War, she was dragged from the temple of Athena and violated by the Locrian Ajax. After the war she was the slave of Agamemnon and was killed with him by his wife Clytemnestra. She was also known as Alexandra.Cassandra
in ancient Greek mythology, the daughter of the Trojan king Priam and Hecuba.
Captivated by Cassandra’s beauty, the god Apollo endowed her with the gift of prophecy. But after she rejected him, Apollo decreed that no one would believe her prophecies. The Trojans, in particular, did not heed the words of Cassandra, who cautioned Paris against abducting Helen, an act that triggered the Trojan War. After the capture of Troy by the Greeks, Agamemnon took Cassandra captive; she died with him at the hands of his wife, Clytemnestra.
Figuratively, the term “Cassandra’s prophecies” means gloomy predictions that are mistrusted by listeners.
Cassandra
no one gave credence to her accurate prophecies of doom. [Gk. Myth.: Zimmerman, 51]
See: Disbelief
Cassandra
true prophet, doomed to go unbelieved. [Gk. Myth.: Espy, 40]
See: Irony
Cassandra
no credence ever given to her truthful prophecies of doom. [Gk. Myth.: Zimmerman, 51]
See: Pessimism
Cassandra
always accurate but fated to be disbelieved, predicts doom of Troy to brother, Hector. [Br. Lit.: Troilus and Cressida; Gk. Myth.: Parrinder, 57]
See: Prophecy
Cassandra
raped by Ajax the Less on the night Troy fell. [Gk. Myth.: Brewer Dictionary, 17]
See: Rape
Cassandra
commits suicide to escape the Athenians. [Fr. Opera: Berlioz, The Trojans, Westerman, 174]
See: Suicide