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The Greek Hero : Cassandra As A Hero

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A hero is normally described as a mythological or legendary figure often endowed with great strength or ability or as a person admired for achievements and noble qualities. There are examples of heroes everywhere, in the past, in the present, and especially in stories. In Greek mythology, there are countless examples of heroes, from the brave and powerful Hercules to the quick thinking Perseus. Cassandra, the beautiful daughter of the king and queen of Troy, was an example of a hero in Greek mythology. Her story is one of great tragedy and heartbreak. She was blessed with the gift of prophecy when she was a baby, and then later cursed by Apollo for not returning his advances. Her curse was that no one would ever believe her prophecies, despite them being true. As a result of this, everyone around her thought she was crazy (Smith). Many other horrible events happened in her life, but despite all this, she still tried to help her city and the people in it (Bell). Cassandra is a hero, because she prophesied events in the Trojan war, and kept on trying to warn everyone even though they thought she was insane.
Cassandra is a hero because she predicted many different events in the Trojan War to try and help her side. One of the most important predictions she made was that the Trojan Horse was a trap. No one believed her, leading to the downfall of Troy (Bell). Even though nobody believed her, she still had good intentions. She wanted to save her city from more death and destruction. Cassandra could have chosen to stay quiet and let it happen. Instead, even though it was in vain, she tried to warn everyone. Robert Bell, the author of Women of Classical Mythology writes, “Possessing the divine gift of prophecy [Cassandra] carried with it an obligation, and the principal responsibility would have been the protection of homeland and the whole Trojan race.” Cassandra’s responsibility for her people is shown throughout her actions during the Trojan War. This, of course would be a huge weight to have on anyone’s shoulders, but she did her best with what she could. It shows that she had only selfless intentions while trying to help her people. Cassandra predicted that Paris marrying Helen would bring about the fall of Troy.

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