Cassandra's life was dominated by her gift and curse of prophecy, given to her by the God Apollo. Apollo gave her the ability to see events before they happen, but after Cassandra refused to sleep with Apollo, He cursed her so that no one would believe her prophecy. This curse lead to the eventual downfall of Troy and Cassandra her self. What if Apollo never cursed Cassandra, and people would still listen to her prophecies. How would this change the course of Cassandra's life, Troy's fall, and the whole world. (statue of Apollo) Cassandra's prophecies could have changed the entire landscape of not just Greece and Troy, but the entire world. First, Cassandra's gift could have saved her own life. If Priam, King of Troy (and Cassandra's father) listened to her tell him that the Greeks would defeat Troy, He could have used her gift to fight back against Greece and defeat them. With Greece defeated, Agamemnon never would have taken her as a slave. With this event never happening, Cassandra would have never been killed at the hands of Clytemnestra. Instead, she could stay in Troy and live the rest of her life with Aeneas, who never would have become a hero since he would never leave to found a new Troy. Cassandra's gift to see the future could allow the Trojan military to create battle tactics to defeat Greece. With her ability she could warn Priam to no accept the wooden horse that lead to the downfall of Troy. With the help of Cassandra Troy would never fall and that would lead to Aeneas never going on to create the Roman race, which would mean the Roman empire might not have ever came into power. With Greece weakened from the loss, Troy could move in and become the area's leading nation, which could change the entire course of the world.
However, just because people could believe her prophecies, does not mean they would listen. In the book it is clearly stated that Troy wanted to go to war with Greece when It was relieved to Cassandra that Hellen was never in Troy. Troy and Priam had planned on going to war with Greece for a long time and there's a good chance they would not listen to Cassandra. The leaders of Troy would probably be too prideful and arrogant to listen to Cassandra, a woman. They would refuse her help and think they can defeat Greece without the help of a women, which would lead to the end of Troy. Without the curse of Apollo, Cassandra could have single handedly changed the course of the worlds history. If the leaders of Troy were smart and open minded, they could have used her gifts to save the kingdom and all of its people. The curse no longer being a factor would also change Cassandra's life for the better in many different ways. Not being captured and killed by Agamemnon and Clytemnestra would allow her to see many different things in the world like she always wanted. She also would have been able to liver her life with the man she loved, if he would no longer become a hero. With Apollo's curse gone, Cassandra's gift of prophecy could have saved her and all of Troy, if people would even listen.
0 Comments
In Aeschylus's The Oresteia, a key character is Clytemnestra, wife of Agamemnon and queen of Argos. In the first play she murders her husband for sacrificing their daughter Iphigenia. She had been planning her vengeance for 10 years while Agamemnon was away fighting Troy. She kills him and with her new lover Aigisthos, take over as new rulers of Argos. This is something that normally is not seen in Greek myth. She is very determined and strong willed in her goals. she is very different compared to the other women we see throughout the plays. For example in The Libation Bearers, Electra formulates a plan to kill Clytemnestra to avenge her father with Orestes, but Electra does not do much in executing the plan. She leaves everything up to Orestes while she watches from the sidelines. Wither that was a tactical move and leaving Orestes with the problems resulting from the murders such as the furies, or she just let the man take care of the physical fighting is up for debate. Clytemnestra on the other hand, took action and killed Agamemnon and Cassandra herself, rather than leaving the job to a man. Other characters think of her having manly qualities. At the beginning of Agamemnon, the watchman describes her as " a woman in passionate heart and man in strength of purpose." (Agamemnon 11). The watchman saying this proves that Clytemnestra is viewed of having both manly and womanly qualities. Clytemnestra also speaks like a man in some points throughout the book. She says "I stand here where I dealt the blow; my purpose was achieved". We don't really see other women speak like this throughout the plays. Clytemnestra knows she is different than the other woman around her. She doesn't think of her self as a "witless woman". Her goals are also very different from what most woman are responsible for in this time. A woman's duties were to stay at home and take care of the children. Clytemnestra did not really care for two of her three chidden. She sent Orestes away, and rarely acknowledged Electra. The only child she really seemed to care for was Iphigenia. Rather than focusing on the normal things women do, Clytemnestra wanted power. She didn't just kill Agamemnon for her daughter, she also wanted to become the head ruler of Argos. Clytemnestra sought power and wanted to prove that she was better than others around her. Her new husband Aigisthos did not become the head ruler of Argos, she did. Her will to fight and determination is greater than any other character in the story, man or woman. Clytemnestra is easily my favorite character through out the three plays. She is far more complex than the characters around her. Clytemnestra has interesting goals and a compelling reason for wanting to achieve them. Clytemnestra shatters all the rules and regulations that her society set up for her and other women. Even when she meet her end at the hand of her son Orestes, she was breaking down the gender roles the Greeks employed.
|
AuthorZach Knackstedt Archives
November 2021
Categories |