In Greek mythology, Cassandra 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). When Cassandra of Troy refused Apollo, he placed a curse
on her so that she and all her descendants' predictions would not be believed.
She is a figure both of the epic tradition and of tragedy.
