One day among Mount Olympus, Cassandra, the daughter of Priam, King of Troy was put under a curse, the curse of Apollo. Cassandra’s powers entailed predicting the future but after rejecting his interests, Apollo’s curse ensured that no God will ever believe her predictions. Cassandra saw that the mortals were creating technology that defeated the weather Gods. These humans kept on building power altering inventions that led to complete chaos within the weather Gods. She sought out the God of the Sea, Poseidon and the God of the Sky, Zeus, as they are Gods of the Weather. She told them that their powers were being defeated by humans and if they continue damaging the earth, their powers will disappear.
In hopes to lift her curse, she tries to convince them of the truth and restore their full powers over the weather. She summoned both Gods to convince them of her predictions. She begged them to believe her for days and the Gods finally acknowledged that the mortals have been tampering with the weather patterns throughout the world. Cassandra was relieved that they started believing her and thought they would finally lift her curse. They could not lift her curse if their powers were not restored, if their powers are not restored the human’s technology would destroy the world. She turned to Zeus and cried to him softly for his empathy, she needed him to believe her. When she realized that they would not believe or help her she sees out Apollo to try and influence him.
Begging for his mercy Cassandra was on her knees asking Apollo to relieve her from this curse, telling him that these Gods are blind to see what will happen to their powers if they let humans create technology. She is explaining to him that she has a gift to see the future and she tells him that when the humans all die there will be no one to worship him. Apollo feels that he is a god and that what Cassandra has to say is not worthy to his immortal ear, so he becomes big and stands over her then says I will send you to the underworld for your unimaginable predictions and desperate pleads. As she disregards Apollo’s threat and is convinced of her predictions, she goes to Zeus and Poseidon again, this time she knows they will believe her. Cassandra talks to Zeus and Poseidon as she would to her lover, she uses her body and her power to just get these gods on board. But they do not care for her, so they turn her away.
A year has gone by and Cassandra has tried but her curse if not lifted and the humans have altered the God’s power as she had predicted, so she decides to leave and go into hiding. Zeus goes to Apollo and tells him that Cassandra had come to him and begged him to lift the curse. Apollo hears this and finds Cassandra, then grabs her from her hair she is yelling and crying out stop I am sorry, please let me go. Apollo just hardens his grip and takes her to this dark, hot place that has screams coming out from every corner. She asks him with a small soft tone in her voice “what is this place”. Apollo just looks at her with a disappointed face.
Then a big man walks towards them with chains hanging from his arms, horns coming out his head and a pair of black angle wings on his back. His looks at the sky with his arms out and saying, “Welcome to the underworld” Cassandra looks at Apollo hoping he changes his mind in guilt, but he doesn’t. Apollo throws her at Hades feet. Hades grabs her by the arm and pulls her into the darkness while Apollo returns to the light…. END
Analysis
The story starts off with entail to what climate change really is, the result of human based emissions in the world that thus causes the weather to dramatically shift (Falk). Through these patterns and based off scientific research, the rate of global warming changes will soon cause the world to start deteriorating otherwise predicted as the world is soon to end (Falk). The main character Cassandra is the daughter of King Priam, the last King of Troy (Apollo. Bibl). Cassandra roughly translates to a sad complex dilemma that is used as a metaphor to reflect disbelieved or unheard personal perceptions alike people do with climate change (Laurie). Many forms of psychological analysis can be found in the Cassandra complex as a woman who suffers under silence and mistrust (Laurie). When Apollo was taken back by her beauty, he pursues Cassandra to be his partner (Apollo. Bibl). She refuses him to remain to her virginity, this anger and embarrasses him and thus put her under a curse where nobody would believe what she says and her future predictions alike the curse of blindness humans have in regard to environmental changes (Apollo. Bibl). Cassandra be a metaphor about climate change, the increasing amount of pollution and damage to the natural ecosystems (Falk). She is a prime metaphor for blind ignorance to climate change. Many meteorologists study the climate changes that occur and have predicted several possible outcomes of natural disasters and future changes (Falk). The society we live in today have an abundance of information that people spend years studying for example, the glaciers melting in Antarctica and the polar bears that are dying (Falk). Specialists spend time studying the history to predict the future, this is to warn and help humanity plan and prevent these actions from happening again (Falk). The weather itself is a very hard thing to predict as it is always changing, there will occasionally be a truthful alert where people will listen and act accordingly (Falk). In most cases, these predictions are not seen through by people and suffer the consequences afterwards, alike Cassandra (Laurie). She predicted many events, but nobody had believed her word due to the curse. The COVID-19 pandemic is a prime example of a predicted situation that people did not take seriously in the beginning. In relation to that example, Cassandra had predicted that her cousin Aeneas was going to escape during the fall of Troy and find a new land but her warning were disregarded (Hes. WD). She then went to the Gods Poseidon and Zeus for their help to relieve the curse. Poseidon is the God of the Sea, brothers with Zeus and Hades (Hom. Il)). Zeus is the God of the Sky; she goes to him for help because he would be most suited to try and fix these issues (Hom. Il). Although humans’ considerable control their own actions, if her predictions are correct, Zeus would be able to prevent this from happening (Smyka). He is known for his association with the weather and his thunderbolt and Poseidon controlling water I thought they would keen representation of the Gods of the weather and the ones in charge of the climate control (Hom. Il). Zeus also stands for a more relatable God and serves injustice alike people in society who want change and have the means to do so (Hom. Il). Cassandra appeals to him as a victim of Apollo’s actions as the curse has made her suffer in silence. Zeus is one to be with many women and express his love and empathy easily with them, although she did not offer her body she begged for his empathy as a woman (Hes. WD). She then realizes that the curse will never let her be heard and the Gods will never believe her. She seeks out Apollo herself to try and lift the curse by trying to appeal to his ego, but his ego is too large to hear out what she has to say. In her last resort she goes back to the Gods, Zeus and Poseidon and decides to use her femininity to her advantage but unfortunately, they are not interested. Cassandra has realized after all this time; her voice is still unheard, and her predictions are coming true, but nobody is listening. When Apollo hears of Cassandra’s actions and intentions with Zeus he is angered and makes her pay for actions. She instantly regrets everything she has done in fear of Apollo. He sends her to the underworld amongst Hades, Zeus’ brother. Hades is represented as a demonic God that rules the underworld and is capable of ruining Cassandra’s life (Apollo. Bibl). This can be seen as a representation of the non-environmentally friendly world we live in.
In the end, while Cassandra goes into the darkness, Apollo walks back into the light represented as the God of Light because behind it all, Apollo is still seen as the good guy (Apollo. Bibl). While the silenced truth is overcome by darkness and damage, the damagers are still okay at the end of it all. The truth of this world is that the world is deteriorating, and the awareness is silenced by capitalist darkness. Human themselves are the reason for the damage to the world and the cause of climate change. Humans are the damagers and continue to silence the world and carry on with their system of production and capitalism, the inducing factors of clime change.
Works Cited
Apollodorus. The Library. Translated by Sir James George Frazer. Loeb Classical Library Volumes 121 & 122. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921.
Falk, Richard. (2012). Apollo's Curse and Climate Change. richardfalk.org/2012/09/29/apollos curse-and-climate-change/.
Hesoid. Lamberton, Robert; Lombardo Stanley. Theogony: Work and Days. 1943-Indianapolis. Hackett Publishing Company.
Homer. The Iliad. Translation by Lattimore, R. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
Laurie Layton, Schapira. (2016). Laurie Layton Schapira on Mythology, Jung Journal, 10:2, 69-72, DOI: 10.1080/19342039.2016.1158589
Smyka, Christopher. (2014). "The Big Three (Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon)," Fishladder: A Student Journal of Art and Writing: Vol. 12: Is. 1, Article 18.