CASSANDRA, CASSANDRE. Cassandra was King Priam's daughter and Troilus's sister. Apollo fell in love with her and gave her the gift of prophecy, but she refused to return his love. Since he could not take back his gift, Apollo rendered it useless: no one would believe her prophecies. After the fall of Troy she was given as a concubine to Agamemnon, who took her home to Mycenae. She shared the horror of his homecoming, for Clytemnestra killed them both (Aeneid II.246-247, III.182-187).

The Man in Black says that Cassandra never had as much woe as he did the day his lady refused to accept him, BD 1236-1249. Cassandra is called Sibille, Tr V.1450, when she comes to Troilus to interpret his dream of the boar. The name sibyl was given by the Greeks and the Romans to female prophets, usually to those inspired by Apollo (Aeneid VI.77-101). [Sibille: Troilus]

Cassandra, the Latin and English form, appears medially, BD 1245. Cassandre, the French variant, appears three times initially: final -e is elided in Tr V.1451, 1456, but pronounced for the meter, Tr V.1534; it appears once medially, Tr III.410.