heyo! hope you’re having a good day :>
I’m curious, what is your take on Cassandra and Oenone? They are two women in the Epic Cycle with very tragic endings, but both are still very cool in their own right!
Hiya! Thank you for the ask!!
I haven’t had time to read any original Greek Myth classics works other than the Iliad, so my knowledge is a bit limited on this matter. However I have somewhat a general knowledge of their tales and I will give my opinions based on that.
The women of Greek Myth are very interesting to me, as they are complex people and I love the way they embrace their femininity, both in good and bad ways.
Cassandra is just a tragic woman, I think it’s quite brave and understandable for her to deny Apollo. After that even when no one believed her, she still voiced out her prophecies. Her ending was just tragic, being passed from one man to another, being defiled and then being killed as a minor collateral damage. Idk if it’s better that a woman killed her and not a man.
I think she’s important to the overall story as an helpless observer, but unlike other women who know almost nothing, her tragedy is that she knows something, probably too much. This is also why I added her in that fanfic of Helen, hehe. She acted quite bitter and insane there but it’s under the eyes of Helen, another observer who will not be able to understand throughout.
She’s like those women who are very smart and knowledgeable, unfortunately too smart for her own good. No one could keep up with her intellect, and as a result, is seen as a mad woman.
Oenone is even more tragic, as she has basically nothing to do with the Trojan War or even the Priam family. She has no part in the fight. She simply and unfortunately married to Paris. And for her, there was no Paris the prince, covering in shining stuffs and nice things for, but a shepherd, a nobody. She knew him as he was (or did she?)
Her life with Paris was before he knew he was a prince, it’s a simple and honest life (Alexa plays Married life from Up), until bro realized he was a prince and picking another married woman is better (bro your wife’s right there)😭😭😭. She died still loving Paris and out of guilt and grief.
Thank you for answering!!
Cassandra’s case is so tragic, and I can’t help but think of how women often get violent against women because of circumstances (like Cassandra pulling Helen’s hair in a fit of rage when she arrived at Troy, to Cassandra being killed by Clytemnestra because she was a liability/Agamemnon’s forced concubine. It’s always those sisters 😭). You are right, to Helen Cassandra is Bitter and insane as a Mad Woman, and I like how Helen and Cassandra can never be truly close because of that.
AND YES Oenone was just an outsider!! She didn’t deserve any of that heartache!!