Cassandra
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| - | '''''The Trojan war will not take place''''' (original title: ''La guerre de Troie n'aura pas lieu'', English title ''Tiger at the Gates'') is a play by [[France|French]] dramatist [[Jean Giraudoux]], written in 1935. The play has two acts and follows the convention of the [[Classical unities|classical unities]]. | ||
| - | Within the framework of the [[Iliad|Iliadic]] myth of the [[Trojan War]], Giraudoux criticizes diplomacy and the behaviour of the national leaders and intellectuals who brought about the [[World War I|First World War]] and the lead-up to [[World War II]]. | + | In [[Greek mythology]], '''Cassandra''' (''Κασσάνδρα'', "she who entangles men", also known as '''Alexandra''') was the daughter of King [[Priam]] and Queen [[Hecuba]] of [[Troy]]. Her beauty caused [[Apollo]] to grant her the gift of [[prophecy]]. In an alternative version, she spent a night at Apollo's temple, at which time the temple snakes licked her ears clean so that she was able to hear the future. This is a recurring theme in Greek mythology, though sometimes it brings an ability to understand the language of animals rather than an ability to know the future. (Compare [[Melampus]]; Athena cleaned the ears of [[Tiresias]]) However, when she did not return his love, Apollo placed a curse on her so that no one would ever believe her predictions. She is a figure both of the [[Epic Cycle|epic tradition]] and of [[Greek tragedy|tragedy]], where her combination of deep understanding and powerlessness exemplify the tragic condition of humankind. |
| - | + | == See also == | |
| - | ''La guerre de Troie n'aura pas lieu'' (earlier titles included ''Préface des Préfaces'' and ''Préface à l'Iliade),'' takes place the day before the beginning of the Trojan War inside the gates of the city of [[Troy]]. It follows the struggle of the disillusioned Trojan military commander, [[Hector]] (supported by the women of Troy), to avoid war with the [[Greeks]]. Hector's wife [[Andromache]] is pregnant, contributing to his desire for peace. Along with his worldly-wise mother [[Hecuba]], Hector leads the anti-war argument and tries to persuade his brother [[Paris (mythology)|Paris]] to return Paris's beautiful but empty-headed captive [[Helen]] to [[Greece]]. Giraudoux presents Helen as not only an object of desire, but the epitome of destiny itself. She claims that she can see the future by seeing what is coloured in her mind, and she sees war. For Hector, Helen means only war and destruction. But for the other Trojan men, led by the poet Demokos, she epitomises an opportunity for glory: they are eager to have others fight a war in her name. The peace agreement Hector negotiates with the visiting Greek commander, [[Odysseus|Ulysses]], is no match for Demokos's deliberate lies, and at the end of the play, the seer [[Cassandra]]'s cynical prediction that war cannot be avoided has been proven right. | + | *[[Cassandre]] |
| + | *[[Cassandra (metaphor)]] | ||
| + | *[[Apollo]] | ||
| + | *[[Apollo archetype]] | ||
| + | *[[Novikov Self-Consistency Principle]] | ||
| + | *[[The Boy Who Cried Wolf]] | ||
| + | *[[Tiresias]] | ||
| + | *[[Jonah#Connections to other legends#Jonah and Cassandra|Jonah]] | ||
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In Greek mythology, Cassandra (Κασσάνδρα, "she who entangles men", also known as Alexandra) was the daughter of King Priam and Queen Hecuba of Troy. Her beauty caused Apollo to grant her the gift of prophecy. In an alternative version, she spent a night at Apollo's temple, at which time the temple snakes licked her ears clean so that she was able to hear the future. This is a recurring theme in Greek mythology, though sometimes it brings an ability to understand the language of animals rather than an ability to know the future. (Compare Melampus; Athena cleaned the ears of Tiresias) However, when she did not return his love, Apollo placed a curse on her so that no one would ever believe her predictions. She is a figure both of the epic tradition and of tragedy, where her combination of deep understanding and powerlessness exemplify the tragic condition of humankind.
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See also
- Cassandre
- Cassandra (metaphor)
- Apollo
- Apollo archetype
- Novikov Self-Consistency Principle
- The Boy Who Cried Wolf
- Tiresias
- Jonah
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