Cassandra as Fate
Document Type
Panel Presentation
Start Date
19-4-2019 2:00 PM
End Date
19-4-2019 3:15 PM
Keywords
latin, seneca, classics
Biography
My name is Lauren Stewart, and I am from Huntington, WV. I am a senior at Marshall University majoring in Political Science and Latin.
Major
Latin
Advisor for this project
Christina Franzen
Abstract
In Seneca’s Agamemnon, Cassandra causes the destruction of Argos through existing in places she does not belong. Cassandra is possessed by a deity which creates symptoms such as madness, doubling, and pollution. The doubling shows that she is in a liminal space; she exists in places where she should not be. Her madness pollutes and violates the boundaries of the city. When Cassandra exists in a space away from Apollo, it creates an unstable violation of divine will. She goes against her original fate, and causes a collapse within any space she occupies. Her curse is not just visions, but tragedy surrounding her. Apollo’s curse is the root of the turmoil she meets, and this causes her to pollute the world around her.
Cassandra as Fate
In Seneca’s Agamemnon, Cassandra causes the destruction of Argos through existing in places she does not belong. Cassandra is possessed by a deity which creates symptoms such as madness, doubling, and pollution. The doubling shows that she is in a liminal space; she exists in places where she should not be. Her madness pollutes and violates the boundaries of the city. When Cassandra exists in a space away from Apollo, it creates an unstable violation of divine will. She goes against her original fate, and causes a collapse within any space she occupies. Her curse is not just visions, but tragedy surrounding her. Apollo’s curse is the root of the turmoil she meets, and this causes her to pollute the world around her.
