At the top of the shelf, a note reads…
Shelf 7: Mythology. Uncover snippets of research done by our authors about mystical subjects from ancient storytelling.
One thing with gods is that while they live their lavish lives, with feasts and parties, they always seem to miss one thing. The tale of the god who fell in love with a mortal is one told in many forms, but rarely with a happy ending. Or dare I say, never.
In ancient Greece, you come across gods falling in love with mortals all the time. It was Zeus who changed into a swan to chase Leda and Psyche who was claimed by Eros but betrayed by her jealous sisters. And so too, Apollo fell in love, one too many times.
It was Cassandra who next fell victim to the obsession of Apollo. Daughter to King Priam and Queen Hecuba of Troy, Cassandra was beautiful and intelligent. With her twin brother, Helenus, and her brothers Hector and Paris, she roamed the city, finding entertainment all around in music, or in poetry or in play.
Cassandra, though often seen as nothing more than beautiful, loved nothing better than to study, in contrast to her louder, boasting older brothers who rampaged around the city. Her twin brother, Helenus, often joined her in traipsing around, finding new books and plays to learn most about everything.
One evening, with a pile of books, they sneaked into Apollo’s temple, a quiet place at dusk. Soon, Helenus fell asleep on top of the pages, but Cassandra, enamoured by the book she had come across, kept reading on. It was after sundown that Apollo, god of oracles and healing, among many things, noticed her presence.
Entranced by her beauty, he decided to come have a look. Although gods can’t show their true form, since mortals will be incinerated in an instant, Cassandra recognised the god right away in his human form. Something radiated off him and Cassandra could put two and two together. This was at a time when gods still showed their faces to humans on occasion.
“You must be Apollo,” she said, more curious than in awe. She stood up from between her pile of books and dusted off her dress. Apollo merely smiled and looked her over. To gods, mortals were as much entertainment as the books were to Cassandra.
“I’ve seen your devotion to me,” he spoke. “Which I naturally appreciate and in return, I would like to bestow on you, a gift.”
Cassandra, who had no more devotion for Apollo than any other god or goddess, knew when to remain quiet. She bowed in thanks.
“Seeing your lust for knowledge,” Apollo continued, “the only fitting gift I can bestow on you, is the knowledge of the prophecy. It’s knowledge you cannot find in books, nor on scrolls.”
“It would be an honour,” Cassandra said, “only, what is it you ask in return.” For she knew that gods rarely gave anything away for free.
“I merely ask your continuing devotion,” Apollo responded. And so it became that Apollo bestowed the gift of the prophecy to Cassandra. He left her alone to wake up her brother, to which she told the news. He too was elated to find out, that while Apollo had bestowed the gift on Cassandra, some had leapt onto him. With this new knowledge, knowledge better than anyone had, they ran home.
Cassandra took her task seriously. While she revelled in her new skills, she continued to visit Apollo’s temple and this time, she made sure to bring food, which she burned upon the altar to the god.
Yet one night, when she stood at the altar alone, she spoke that she would be visited soon, by none other than Apollo himself. Her prophecies often came in utterances, which was how she recognised it to be true. So she waited. It was before the food had entirely burned up, that he appeared behind her.
“I hope you have appreciated the gifts I have been bringing you,” Cassandra said, turning to the god.
“I have,” Apollo said. “And I’ve come to claim the devotion I asked for.”
Cassandra, who was wise in most things, but not in men, had not a chance to run before Apollo came upon her. What Apollo had hoped to be a romantic night, turned into a fierce struggle. Cassandra fought him off, running away from the temple, legs carrying her faster than they ever had. Apollo could have followed her, but he didn’t. Instead, in his wrath, he called upon a curse. From now on, while Cassandra could still foresee the future, no one would believe anything she said.
Cassandra, who believed she had managed to escape, ran straight to her mother, to whom she told the terrible story. Yet her mother wouldn’t hear it. While she believed her daughter to be beautiful, no god would come to visit them and so, Cassandra was waved off, dejected and confused.
Where before everyone had come to her for advice and knowledge, suddenly no one believed Cassandra anymore. At first, she shrugged it off, but when even her brother wouldn’t believe her, it dawned on her what happened.
Years passed, and Cassandra, while once free and curious was now dispirited and barely left her room. Until one evening, an utterance came to her. Without prior knowledge, a timeline of horrid events tumbled out of her mouth. She knew it to be the future, but it couldn’t be.
If her brother Paris were to go to Sparta and bring Helen back as his wife, a terrible war would break out which would destroy Troy. Cassandra tried to warn everyone, yet no one would listen. The Trojans merely looked upon her as if she were crazy. She saw everyone’s demise, including her own. And so it played out, with Cassandra seeing death and destruction around every corner, yet unable to warn anyone about it. She was another cursed mortal, in a line of women whose lives were discarded by the fleeting interests of the gods.
Note: there is no one version of any myth, this is a creative version of Cassandra’s myth, taking inspiration from many different sources. Myths were told mouth to mouth and therefore have no one true telling. In another version, Cassandra already possesses the gift of the prophecy, gifted to her and her brother by snakes whispering in their ears. Apollo then cursed her when she didn’t respond to his advances. There is also a lot more to this myth, but in light of lengthiness, I kept it short(ish). Unfortunately, the story only gets more terrible from here on.
Find more snippets of writing in our digital bookstore.