# Cassandra — Agamemnon character guide

> Cassandra in Agamemnon by Aeschylus.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Cassandra Apollo, Cassandra The Seer Apollo, Cassandra O Father, Cassandra O Woman, Cassandra Death, Cassandra Man, Cassandra Yet, Cassandra Ah

**First appearance:** 0004-agamemnon

## Snapshot

Trojan princess and seer brought home as Agamemnon's captive, cursed to speak true prophecies that no one around her will believe.

## Who they are

Cassandra enters the play as silent spoil of war, a royal daughter of fallen Troy standing on the terrace of the house that destroyed her city. Her gift of prophecy, once granted by Apollo and then twisted into a curse, isolates her utterly: she sees what is coming and can neither prevent it nor persuade anyone to listen. She matters because her visions give the story its deepest register, turning a domestic homecoming into a tragedy of foreknowledge, and her long silence before speech is one of the play's most charged moments.

## Relationships

### [Aigisthos](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/agamemnon_se/characters/aigisthos)

_rivalry_

Aigisthos views Cassandra as a captive and threat to his rule, while she prophesies his doom.

### [Clytemnestra](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/agamemnon_se/characters/clytemnestra)

_rivalry_

Clytemnestra sees Cassandra as her husband's war prize and rival, while Cassandra foresees her own murder by Clytemnestra.

### [Zeus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/agamemnon_se/characters/zeus)

_psychological_

Cassandra appeals to Zeus as a divine witness to her suffering and the injustice of her fate.

### [Apollo](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/agamemnon_se/characters/apollo)

_psychological_

Apollo cursed Cassandra with true prophecies no one believes after she rejected his romantic advances.

### [Agamemnon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/agamemnon_se/characters/agamemnon)

_social_

Agamemnon brings Cassandra home as a war prize and concubine, indifferent to her prophetic anguish.

### [Aeschylus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/agamemnon_se/characters/aeschylus)

_professional_

Aeschylus uses Cassandra as a prophetic voice to reveal past crimes and future doom.

### [Priam](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/agamemnon_se/characters/priam)

_family_

Cassandra is Priam's daughter, a Trojan princess who foresees the destruction of her family.

### [Apollo](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/agamemnon_se/characters/apollo)

_psychological_

Apollo cursed Cassandra with true prophecies no one believes after she rejected his romantic advances.

### [Apollo](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/agamemnon_se/characters/apollo)

_psychological_

Apollo cursed Cassandra with true prophecies no one believes after she rejected his romantic advances.

## In the story

### [Family Trees](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/agamemnon_se/chapters/family-trees)

Listed as a chief character in the family tree.

### [Endnotes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/agamemnon_se/chapters/endnotes)

Her silent prophecy and eventual speech are discussed; her vision grows steadily more definite; her sob 'otototoi' is noted as a stage direction.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/agamemnon_se/characters/cassandra
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/agamemnon_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/agamemnon_se/characters