Editing Cassandra (section)

{{Short description|Mythological prophetess and princess of Troy}}
{{About|the Greek mythological prophet}}
[[File:Cassandra1.jpeg|thumb|''Cassandra'' by [[Evelyn De Morgan]] (1898, London); Cassandra in front of the burning city of Troy, depicted with disheveled hair denoting the insanity ascribed to her by the Trojans<ref>[[John Lemprière]], Lemprière’s Classical Dictionary, first published 1788, London</ref>]]
[[File:Terracotta Nolan neck-amphora (jar) MET DT369516.jpg|thumb|"Cassandra and Ajax" depicted on a terracotta [[amphora]], ''circa'' 450 BC]]
'''Cassandra''' or '''Kassandra''' ({{IPAc-en|k|ə|'|s|æ|n|d|r|ə}};<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/newcenturyclassi00aver/page/258/mode/2up |page=258 |title=New Century Classical Handbook |first=Catherine B. |last=Avery |publisher=Appleton-Century-Crofts |location=New York |year=1962}}</ref> {{langx|grc|Κασσάνδρα}}, {{IPA|el|kas:ándra|pron}}, sometimes referred to as '''Alexandra'''; {{lang|grc|Ἀλεξάνδρα}})<ref>[[Lycophron]], ''Alexandra'' [https://archive.org/stream/callimachuslycop00calluoft#page/496/mode/2up 30]; [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0525.tlg001.perseus-eng1:3.19 3.19], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0525.tlg001.perseus-eng1:3.26 3.26].</ref> in [[Greek mythology]] was a Trojan priestess dedicated to the god [[Apollo]] and fated by him to utter true [[prophecy|prophecies]] but never to be believed. In modern usage her name is employed as a rhetorical device to indicate a person whose accurate prophecies, generally of impending disaster, are not believed.

Cassandra was [[List of children of Priam|a daughter]] of King [[Priam]] and Queen [[Hecuba]] of [[Troy]]. Her elder brother was [[Hector]], the hero of the Greek-[[Trojan War]]. The older and most common versions of the myth state that she was admired by the god Apollo, who sought to win her love by means of the gift of seeing the future. According to [[Aeschylus]], she promised him her favours, but after receiving the gift, she went back on her word. As the enraged Apollo could not revoke a divine power, he added to it the curse that nobody would believe her prophecies. In other sources, such as [[Fabulae|Hyginus]] and [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Pseudo-Apollodorus]], Cassandra broke no promise to Apollo, but rather the power of foresight was given to her as an enticement to enter into a romantic engagement, the curse being added only when it failed to produce the result desired by the god.

Later versions on the contrary describe her falling asleep in a temple, where snakes licked (or whispered into) her ears which enabled her to hear the future.{{Efn|A snake as a source of knowledge is a recurring theme in Greek mythology, though sometimes the snake brings understanding of the language of animals rather than an ability to know the future. Likewise, prophets without honor in their own country reflect a standard narrative trope.}}