IN THE ANCIENT GREEK MYTHS, one of the most powerful and important gods was Apollo, son of Zeus and Leto and twin brother of Artemis. He was the god of the Sun and light, archery and the arts, (music, poetry and dance), healing and diseases, and, most importantly for our purposes - truth and prophecy. Like his father Zeus, he fell in “love” often. In ancient Troy, his eyes fell on Cassandra, the daughter of King Priam and Queen Hecuba. In some accounts, Cassandra was given the gift/ blessing of true prophecy by Apollo. She could literally see the future. Despite this gift and his lavishing of affection, she ultimately rejected Apollo’s entreaties. Spurned, yet unable to withdraw the blessing, Apollo cursed her making it so that no one believed her prophecies. The curse was so powerful, it made all about her consider her to be insane despite the ultimate truth of her foresight. The Cassandra Complex (aka metaphor, syndrome, phenomenon, predicament, and curse) is a term used in a variety of modern contexts and disciplines from psychology to political science, to environmental studies, to philosophy, etc. In general, it refers to the suffering individuals or groups feel when society (1) rejects their “prophecies” and in doing so (2) suffer the consequences which could have been avoided. Many in our modern scientific and environmental researchers, educators, journalists, and other professionals find themselves suffering from the Cassandra Complex when current and future societies and individuals suffer from ignoring and belittling them.
展开▼
