Term Paper on "Cassandra -- a Woman Scorned"

Term Paper 3 pages (1105 words) Sources: 1+

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Cassandra -- a Woman Scorned Because a God Was Scorned

Few heroines of Greek mythology have been as unjustly treated as Cassandra. Oddly enough, many of the websites devoted to classifying characters from Greek mythology view her in negative terms. One site quotes a number of contemporary mythologists, calling the "daughter of the Trojan king

Priam and Queen Hecuba...very beautiful, but quite unbalanced," not only in terms of the way she was perceived in the eyes of others, but also in terms of her priorities as a priestess and a woman. (Sandels, 2004) the site makes note of the fact that as a child, Cassandra "was left over night in a temple of Apollo together with her brother Helenus. In the morning, their parents found the children entwined with snakes. The serpents were flicking their tongues into the children's ears, and so they were given the gift of prophecy." (Sandels, 2004)

Because of this gift, Cassandra was made a priestess, and not required to marry, as were most women in ancient society. However, Cassandra later refused the God Apollo, who condemned the young woman to never be believed in her prophecy. One site, entitled "Godchecker.com" even sneers: "Was she [Cassandra] grateful? Not a bit. She grew to be a very beautiful lady whom Apollo was smitten with, but it was years before she would grant him as much as a kiss. Him, the most radiant handsome God ever, who had women swooning in droves!" The implication is that Cassandra, because of her beauty and her intelligence, as well as the gift she was given (a gift given, incidentally, against her will, when she was a child) should give up everything to the god Apollo, even her body. (Saunders & Ramsey, 2004)

Such a misogynist view reflects the modern association of chastity or sexual continence with repression, forgetting that chastity in the Greek world was often a contingent quality and status for remaining a priestesses. The oracle at Delphi was chaste, as were the follower of Artemis, goddess of the moon -- thus by asking her to give up her chastity, Apollo was essentially asking Cassandra to give up her holy status as a religious priestess and oracular voice, by sacrificing her continence to him.

Granted, Apollo was the source of Cassandra' gift. But remember that Apollo's sister, Artemis was chaste, as was the goddess of wisdom Athena. Chastity enabled a woman to be free of the burdens of childbearing and keeping a home for a husband, thus Cassandra's desire to remain chaste was only understandable, for an intelligent and articulate woman possessing an extraordinary religious gift of insight and interpretation. To suggest that Cassandra should simply have been grateful for her prophetic gift while she had it, and given into Apollo because he was the source of her gift -- and thus likely have had to have given up both her gift and her priestly status, seems to suggest that the woman 'asked for it' -- in other words Cassandra asked to be taken advantage of because she acquiesced to be a priestess and was wrong to assert her desire not to be impinged upon as a woman. (Saunders & Ramsey, 2004)

Remember as well that alliances between women and the gods were not always happy ones -- Apollo was notorious for… READ MORE

How to Reference "Cassandra -- a Woman Scorned" Term Paper in a Bibliography

Related Term Papers:

Women's History and Policy Opinion Piece Essay

Women's History And Policy Opinion Piece

Historically, the political arena has been a stronghold of the masculine gender. The representation of the feminine gender has been equivalent to extremely minor… read more

Essay 4 pages (1253 words) Sources: 1+ Topic: Women / Feminism

---

Women A-Level Coursework

Women

Prior to taking this course, I assumed, naturally, that women's studies were mainly about women. It turned out that women's studies is actually about all human beings. The goal… read more

A-Level Coursework 6 pages (1948 words) Sources: 6 Topic: Women / Feminism

---

Women and Feminist Studies A-Level Coursework

women studies at a time when the interdisciplinary willpower and its concepts were getting institutional identification. Women's studies provided me with an exclusive place to take up the positions of… read more

A-Level Coursework 6 pages (2564 words) Sources: 7 Topic: Women / Feminism

---

Women's Rights Term Paper

Women's Rights In America

What non-egalitarian ideologies were present in American society at the time of the launching of the women's rights movement? Put forth an argument.

It was written… read more

Term Paper 3 pages (980 words) Sources: 1+ Topic: Women / Feminism

---

Women's Suffrage in the 19th Century Term Paper

Women's Suffrage In The 19th Century

Although the right of women in the U.S. To vote for their preferred political candidates was finally guaranteed through an amendment to the constitution… read more

Term Paper 8 pages (2561 words) Sources: 10 Topic: Women / Feminism

---

View 100+ more related papers  >>