The god offered Cassandra the gift of prophecy, in exchange for sleeping with her. The myth continues with Apollo’s attempt to seduce the Trojan princess. One of the gods whose attention Cassandra caught was Apollo. Cassandra of Troy is said to have been the most beautiful of Priam’s daughters, and therefore received many suitors, both mortal and immortal. The Greek God Apollo and His Mystical PowersĪccording to the most popular version of the myth, Cassandra gained her prophetic abilities from Apollo, who, amongst other things, was the god of prophecies.Helen of Troy, The Beauty Who Sparked the Trojan War.Apart from that, Helenus’ fate after the war was the opposite of Cassandra’s, as he ultimately became a king in Greece. Ironically, perhaps, Helenus’ prophecies would help the Greeks win the Trojan War. Unlike Cassandra, however, Helenus’ prophecies were believed.
Cassandra had a twin brother, Helenus, who like his sister had the gift of prophecy. According to Greek mythology, Priam fathered numerous children, although Cassandra was his most famous daughter. ( Public domain ) Cassandra of Troy and the Wrath of ApolloĬassandra was a daughter of Priam, the Trojan king, and his wife, Hecuba. Cassandra of Troy is mentioned in the works of various Classical authors, including Homer, Virgil, as well as the Greek tragedians Euripides and Aeschylus.Ĭassandra of Troy was cursed by Apollo for having rejected his sexual advances. The disregard for Cassandra’s prophecies resulted in tragedies befalling those around her and a gut-wrenching fate for Cassandra herself. In the conventional versions of the myth, Cassandra received her gift of prophecy, as well as her curse, from the god Apollo. Her gift of prophecy, however, was accompanied by a curse – no one believed in her prophecies, making her powerless to stop fate from running its course. Best-known for her prophetic powers, within Greek mythology Cassandra is a princess of Troy who lived during the era of the Trojan War.