#malalas

You know...since Cassandra is the ficus I love how more or less both our major sources on describing characters of Epic Cycle aka the alleged Dares the Phrygius and Ioannis Malalas do seem to agree on their description of Cassandra!

Dares is rather scarce in his description:

Cassandra is moderate of height, round eyed, reddish-haired, palpitating/shimmering eyed, can predict the future

(Translation by me)

Malalas on the other hand is more descriptive

Cassandra is shortish, round-eyed, white, mannish bodytype, beautiful nose, beautiful eyes, dark-pupiled, blondish/strawberry blonde, curly of hair, beautiful neck, large breasts, small feet, calm, noble, priestly, accurate prophet and foreseeing everything, strict at her practice, virgin.

(Translation by me)

So I love it how the two sources seem to agree very much in their description of Cassandra despite the fact that Dares the Phrygius doesn't give us much, the things he gives allign with Malalas so this is what we get from her physical description:

Cassandra is a petite woman since both versions describe her of "moderate of structure" or "shortish"

The term "mannish of bodytype" implies the lack of curves apart from her large breasts so we expect Cassandra to have a more pencil figure potentially more to the lean side while she has larger breasts. Now me thinking being more to the thin side is also because she is described as ασκητική aka "strict in her practice" so in one way she would be purifying herself a lot and possibly her practice as well as the intensity of her visions do not allow her to indulge in way too many pleasures such as food or drink or that she chooses not to for the sakes of her practice

She has pale skin (as expected from the ideals of greek and roman texts) and has blondish or reddish hair depending on the source so we can expect some strawberry blonde hair perhaps? Malalas also says she is of curly hair

Her nose and eyes seem to be beautiful while Malalas says how dark her pupils are (possibly dilated from her visions? Dilating when she has visions? Or maybe she is a bit near-sighted?)

She is a virgin (which makes her fate even more tragic when she was raped by Ajax in such a brutal manner)

He then states that Leda was an adulterer and that she had good time with Cycnus son of Ederion at Eurotas river and she had triplets, Castor Pollux and Helen hahahaha

So basically he states that Castor, Pollux and Helen are all born at the same time, they are children of Cycnus (Malalas even implies that Leda was prone at sleeping around haha) and then he claims that Palaephatus the writer said that the poets basically made a poetic euphemism it was Zeus instead of his descendant that impregnated her and that he transformed into a swan (Κύκνος-> Cycnus = swan).

Aeschylus' Agamemnon, v 684—696 (trans. Joel Christensen)

When Paris was born to Hecuba, Priam, his father, went to the oracle of Apollo to inquire about his newborn son. This oracle was given to him: “So to you has been born a son Paris, hardship [dysparis], who will destroy the kingdoms of the Phrygians.”

In the meantime, Penthesileia arrived from across in the Chersonese, bringing a large host of Amazons and brave men. When she learned that Hector had been killed, she was in the process of turning back. Paris learned this, and persuaded her to stay by giving her much gold. (Malalas 5.125)