The Cassandra Syndrome - Ancient Greek Myth

          In Ancient Greek Mythology, Cassandra is the most beautiful daughter of Priam and Hecuba and a princess of Troy. The reason I choose to write about her was that it intrigued me the varieties versions of how Cassandra received her power of foretelling the future. However, there is a commonly told one: Cassandra is a preitess (a female preist), she worked in the Temple where she met the God Apollo. Apollo fell in love with Cassandra the moment he laid eyes on her. Apollo was so much in love with Cassandra that he offered to give her the give of prophecy in exchange for her love. Cassandra agreed to his terms and Apollo granted her the gift. When Apollo asked for her affection, she refused him because she did not accept him as her lover. Embarrassed and angry Apollo placed a cursed upon Cassandra where no one will believe anything she says or predicts, it was punishment because it brought her frustration and despair.

       Cassandra predicted the fall of Troy by the wooden horse and the death of Agamemnon sadly due to the cruse Apollo bestowed upon her everyone thought it was all a lie. Agamemnon was the king of Mycenae and the leader of the Greeks in the Trojan War. During the Trojan War, Ajax the king of Locris also known as Ajax the Lesser, dragged Cassandra from alter of Athena and raped her. Odysseus, the king of Ithaca, knew that Athena would be furious and tell the Greeks to kill Ajax. Ajax barely escaped from being stoned to death by his Greek allies. Athena later sent a storm that sank most of the Greek ships as they tempted to head home.

          Unfortunately, in Greek Mythology the rape of Cassandra is a famous and favorite scene in Greek art. After Troy had fallen and captured by the Greeks, Cassandra became one of the spoils of war and was Agamemnon prisoner or captive. Later, she was murdered along with Agamemnon when they returned to Greece. Agamemnon and Cassandra are now worshiped, and her story is continually being told around the world.

          Nowadays there is something called the Cassandra syndrome recognized by experts. Where people would have valid alarms, visions, or dreams about upcoming events, which are disbelieved. The Cassandra Syndrome applies mainly to psychology and politics or science and Gaston Bachelard, a French Philosopher, was the one who discover and named the syndrome in 1949. 

This is an animated video of the Cassandra Syndrome (some laughs) enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2yX4UeOvBI  

Diana Elgueta :)