Cassandra
Trojan princess and seer who warns that the horse contains warriors but cannot change the city’s choice.
Overview
Cassandra is daughter of Priam and Hecuba and a seer within Troy’s royal household. In the sack tradition preserved by Pseudo-Apollodorus, she states plainly that armed men are inside the horse. Laocoon also argues for its destruction, yet the majority preserve it as a sacred offering. Her role is therefore more specific than the formula “a prophet nobody believes”: information exists and warnings are spoken, but religious interpretation, collective choice and celebration produce the opposite action. During the sack she clings to Athena’s image for sanctuary and is violated by Ajax the Lesser. That perpetrator is Ajax the Lesser, not Ajax son of Telamon, so the two figures must remain distinct.
Relationships
- Wooden Horsewarns of armed men
Cassandra says armed men are hidden inside the horse.
Story appearances
- The Trojan WarSeer whose correct warning cannot change the decision
States that armed men are inside the horse; sanctuary does not protect her during the sack.
Ancient sources
MythWeave distinguishes ancient-source evidence from later adaptations and modern interpretation.