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Guide to who and what
Christa Wolf, Cassandra (1983)
Guides to the text:
- Assignment page
- Introduction to the text
- Guide to who and what
Who's who
| Achilles | "the brute." Strangled, beheaded Troilus (C's brother) at Apollo's altar (desecration, human sacrifice). Dragged Hector. Murdered via Trojan treachery at Apollo's altar. |
| Aeneas | C's lover, father of her two children. Brought in Black Sea allies, incl. Amazons. Survived destruction of Troy. |
| Agamemnon | impotent, says Briseis; hence brutal. Hence also his fear of Clytemnestra, "the imbecile." |
| Aisakos | C's half-brother, prophet; son of Priam and Arisbe |
| Ajax | the elder |
| Ajax | the lesser. Raped C in Temple during destruction |
| Anchises | Aeneas's father |
| Apollo Lykeios | attended by wolves and mice |
| Arisbe | her hut the center of the Cybele cult |
| Briseis | daughter of Calchas. Introduced C to cult of Cybele at foot of Mt. Ida (a mystery religion) |
| Calchas | Trojan prophet. Defected to Greeks. He informed Agamemnon of Artemis's demand (cf. Cassandra, p. 53; Agamemnon, l. 115-258) |
| Deiphobos | |
| Eumelos | rose by merit to head of palace guard; Nazi (allegory) |
| Hector | C's eldest brother |
| Hecuba | C's mother. Queen; wife of King Priam |
| Helen | who is she? what is she? does she even exist? seized by Egyptian king, Proteus (64-68) |
| Helenus | C's twin brother, also a prophet |
| Hesione | Priam's sister. Subject of Second Ship |
| Marpessa | nurse of C's twins. Daughter of Parthena |
| Menelaus | King of Sparta, husband of Helen. Sacrificed at grave of Trojan heroes to halt plague at Sparta. "wants no fight" (58) |
| Myrine | Amazon. Killed by first Greek out of Trojan horse |
| Oenone | brought to Troy by Paris; nurse/homeopath |
| Panthous | Greek, formerly of Delphi, priest of Apollo. C's boss. |
| Paris | long lost son of Priam; raised by shepherd; defeated brothers at games; feared as usurper. Abducted Helen. |
| Parthena | C's nurse |
| Penthesilea | commander of Amazons |
| Polyxena | C's sister; almost priestess of Apollo instead of C; sacrificed at Achilles's grave; guilt |
| Priam | king of Troy. C's father. |
| Troilus | a brother of C; fiancée of Briseis (57); death (71-74) |
What's what
| First Ship | to Delphi; capt. by Lampos. Objective: to inquire whether Ate (Hissarlik, hill upon which Troy is built) was still under a curse, i.e. would fortifications to the city wall be blessed? Returned with Panthous, priest of Apollo at Delphi. |
| Second Ship | to Sparta; capt. by Anchises. Objective: to retrieve Hesione, sister of Priam, abducted by king Telemon (or was she willing?). Calchas defected to the Greeks, afraid of favorable predictions he had made, now that the expedition had failed. |
| Third Ship | to Sparta; capt. by Paris, with Anchises, Aeneas. Departed with Menelaus, but abducted his wife, Helen. Paris and Helen returned via Egypt. |
Possible essay topics
- Who/what is Helen?
- Why are they fighting over her (esp. in light of Hesione)?
- What is this war really about?
- Cassandra is a member of the inner-most circle of the Trojan government, a daughter of the king. Yet even she finds herself excluded from policy deliberations. Discuss secrecy in this story.
- What is Cassandra's secret? (cf. p. 29)
- What is the source of her fear?
- How did being a priestess help her to confront her fear?
- How did being a woman help her to confront her fear?
- What was the role of the cult of Cybele (more secrecy - a mystery religion)?
- Discuss the relationship between truth and madness
- What steps were taken by the royal house to build public support for the war?
- At what point did Troy itself become the enemy?
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