What INFJ has not felt like Cassandra on occasion?
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Cassandra:
Cassandra
was the most beautiful of the daughters of Priam
and Hecuba,
the king and queen of Troy. She was given the gift of prophecy by Apollo,
who wished to seduce her; when she accepted his gift but refused his
sexual advances, he deprived her prophecies of the power to persuade.
At
the end of the Trojan War, Cassandra foresaw the danger posed by the Trojan
horse; the people of Troy ignored her warnings and the Greek
soldiers hiding inside the horse were able to capture the city. During
the sack of Troy, Cassandra was raped by the Locrian (or
"lesser") Ajax, and was then given as a war prize to Agamemnon.
She returned to Greece with Agamemnon, and tried to warn him of the
danger which awaited him there; once again her prophecy was ignored, and
both she and Agamemnon were murdered by Clytemnestra
and Aegisthus.
Encyclopedia
Mythica
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Cassandra
in Greek Mythology (longer version):
The
story of the heroine Cassandra is a favorite in Greek mythology.
Cassandra makes an appearance in many plays and poems, where often she
is depicted in her most memorable role - that of prophetess. So let us
explore this compelling Greek heroine, and learn about Cassandra in myth
and legend.
Cassandra
is mentioned briefly in the Iliad of Homer
(which, incidentally, is one of our oldest and most respected sources
for information about the characters of Greek myth). Indeed, in the
Iliad, we learn that Cassandra was the child of King Priam of Troy, and
she was considered to be Priam's most beautiful daughter (Homer, Iliad,
Book XIII, 365). However, no mention of Cassandra's notorious prophetic
power is made in this Homeric epic.
We
first find the tale of Cassandra and her legendary gifts in other works
of ancient Greek literature. According to one version of the story,
Cassandra received the power to foretell the future from the god Apollo.
Apparently, Apollo instructed the mortal woman and taught her about the
art of prophecy because he had an ulterior motive - the god wished to
win her affections. Cassandra accepted Apollo as a teacher, but not as a
lover. Naturally, the god was insulted by this refusal. So he punished
Cassandra. Apollo caused the gift that he gave Cassandra to be twisted,
making everyone who heard her true and accurate foretellings of future
events believe that they were instead hearing lies. In other words, the
wondrous blessing bestowed upon a mortal became instead a terrible
curse.
And
indeed, the burden of Cassandra's "gift" is evident in
mythology. She predicted the outcome of many disastrous events. In one
memorable example, Cassandra announced the dire consequences of the
Trojans accepting the infamous Wooden Horse from their Greek opponents.
But, as Apollo made certain, no one believed Cassandra when she warned
her companions about the future. And this, in the end, was to be
Cassandra's tragic fate.
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Here's
a really
long version that I found worthwhile reading. It has 5
chapters, an introduction, and a bibliography.
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There's
a fictionalized account by an author popular with Catalysts:
The Firebrand
by Marion Zimmer Bradley
Historical
novel about Cassandra's life with a feminist twist. In Bradley's
story, Cassandra is not killed by Clytemnestra, but goes on to found a
new society.
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Aesculapius? (Keirsey)
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