Cassandra
A Trojan princess blessed with prophecy by Apollo but cursed so that no one would ever believe her predictions. She foresaw Troy's destruction but could not prevent it.
The Legend of Cassandra
Daughter of Priam and Hecuba of Troy, Cassandra was so beautiful that Apollo offered her the gift of prophecy in exchange for her love. She accepted the gift but refused the god. Apollo, unable to revoke it, cursed her so no one would ever believe her. She foretold Troy's fall, warned against Paris bringing Helen, and screamed when the Greeks hid inside the wooden horse — all unheeded. After Troy fell, Ajax the Lesser dragged her from Athena's temple. Agamemnon took her to Mycenae, where Clytemnestra killed them both.
Parents
Priam and Hecuba
Symbols
Fun Fact
A "Cassandra" or "Cassandra complex" describes someone who makes accurate warnings that are ignored — a tragically common phenomenon.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth. See our full guide to English words from Greek mythology.
Explore Further
Cassandra
🗡 heroprophecy
Trojan prophetess cursed by Apollo to always speak true prophecies that no one would ever believe.
Oedipus
🗡 heroKing who fulfilled the prophecy of killing his father and marrying his mother
The tragic king of Thebes who unknowingly killed his father and married his mother, fulfilling a prophecy he had spent his life trying to avoid.
Myrtilus
🗡 herocurse
Charioteer of King Oenomaus bribed by Pelops to sabotage his master's chariot, then murdered by Pelops and the origin of the Pelopid curse.
Rhesus
🗡 herofate
Thracian king who brought white horses to Troy and was killed in his sleep by Odysseus and Diomedes on his first night.
Manto
🗡 heroprophecy
Daughter of Tiresias and prophetess in her own right who was sent to Delphi as a war prize after Thebes fell.
Aerope
🗡 heroAdultery, royalty
Queen of Mycenae whose adultery with Thyestes caused the devastating curse upon the House of Atreus
Phineus
🗡 heroprophecy, punishment
A blind Thracian king and prophet punished by Zeus for revealing divine secrets, tormented by Harpies until rescued by the Argonauts.
Thyestes
🗡 herocurse
Brother of Atreus who seduced his sister-in-law and was tricked into eating his own children at the feast of Atreus.
Phineus the Seer
🗡 heroprophecy
Blind Thracian king and prophet cursed by Zeus to have his food snatched by Harpies until the Argonauts freed him.
Calchas
🗡 heroprophecy
Chief seer of the Greek army at Troy who interpreted omens, demanded Iphigenia's sacrifice, and foretold the war's length.
Mopsus
🗡 heroprophecy
Son of Manto and grandson of Tiresias who defeated the great seer Calchas in a divination contest, causing Calchas to die.
Amphiaraus
🗡 heroThe prophet who foresaw his own death at Thebes
A warrior-prophet who knew the Seven Against Thebes would fail but marched to his death anyway, swallowed by the earth.