Apollo and Cassandra & Hermes and Apollo | How Hermes Stole the Cattle of Apollo | Greek Stories

In ancient times, Greece had temples for each god, including Apollo. Because of this, there were many temples in Greece. Apollo's most famous temple was located in Delphi. This temple was home of the Oracle. Because this was Apollo's most prominent temple, he visited it often. The most interesting detail about this temple is that it was not located in Greece. It was in Troy instead. Apollo enjoyed showing up now and then at various temples built in his honor. One day, Apollo swung by the temple in Troy. Cassandra, a young, beautiful priestess worked at that temple. Cassandra was so beautiful that people compared her to the goddess Aphrodite. So it is no surprise that many young men fell in love with her. Apollo, son of Zeus and Leto, was said to be the ideal of male beauty and was the god of poetry and music. The moment he saw Cassandra, he knew he must win her love. Like all the gods, Apollo was very fond of making deals. He offered a deal to Cassandra. If she would give a kiss, he would give her the gift of prophecy so that she could see into the future. Cassandra accepted the deal. As soon as she received the gift of prophecy, she looked eagerly into the future. But what she saw made her gasp. In the future, she saw Apollo helping the Greeks to destroy the city of Troy. She saw Greek soldiers everywhere and the people of Troy were fleeing for their lives. Apollo slowly bent his head to kiss her as she agreed. But what she saw made Cassandra angrily spit in his face. Apollo was furious. He could not take away his gift. That's not how it worked. He could only add something to his gift. Cassandra, you will always know the future, he said. But you shall be doomed to despair. No matter that your predictions will always be true, no one will ever believe you. From that day, Cassandra could see the future clear as a day, but no one believed her. Even her mother, who she was very fond of, thought her to be crazy. As the myth unfolds, Cassandra foresaw the destruction of Troy by the Greeks. After the Trojan War, the people of Troy were very busy celebrating the defeat of the Greeks. It was then that someone found the big wooden horse outside the gates of their city. People of Troy thought the Greeks had left the wooden horse as a token of their defeat. Cassandra warned her people that the wooden horse was hollow and it was filled with Greek soldiers waiting to attack them. But people thought Cassandra had gone crazy again and didn't bother to pay any attention. They brought the horse into the city and left it there. In the night, a hatch in the wooden horse opened. Hundreds of soldiers poured out, holding their swords and spears. They attacked the people of Troy, and some of them opened the city gates to let the remaining Greek army in. They slaughtered the Trojans, including their king and the queen. People ran around, trying to save their own lives. And that's how, even after being blessed with the gift of prophecy, nobody believed the words of poor Cassandra. Had she lived up to her end of the bargain with Apollo, things would have been quite different, right? Of all the gods on Mount Olympus, Hermes was the most playful. He was the son of Zeus, the king of the gods, and of Maia, a titan's daughter. On the very day of his birth, the fourth day of the month, this little boy started his mischiefs. One night, his mother had fallen asleep. The little boy opened his eyes, which sparkled with that gleam of troublemakers. He quietly climbed out of his basket and managed to run all the way to Thessaly, where his brother Apollo was shepherd in charge of a great herd of white cows. Apollo, as usual, was busy behind one of his romantic pursuits. He neglected his duties and was not watching over the herd. Hermes had an idea. The younger brother of Apollo decided he would steal the cows. He patted the cattle's feet and made them walk backwards to confuse the trail. Apollo would never know which way to look for his missing cows. Hermes was indeed intelligent. He laughed as he headed back toward Mount Olympus, the cattle trailing behind him. On the way home, Hermes spotted a tortoise shell. That gave Hermes another idea. He made his first lyre out of the tortoise shell and string. Then the little boy started playing the lyre. The sound, the music of the first lyre was so beautiful that the clouds danced with joy and the trees trembled. Hermes knew he would charm all who heard it. Back home, Hermes hid the cattle in a quiet grove. Pleased with his night's work, Hermes hurried back to the house and crawled into his basket where he pretended to be fast asleep. Maya was not fooled. She knew that her son, somehow, though he was but a baby, had been up to mischief. She stood over him and watched as he pretended to sleep, and she could not help but smile. At dawn, Apollo stormed into the cave. He went at once to little Hermes' basket and cried, Give me my cows! Hermes looked up at him, his eyes wide and said, But I'm just a baby. I couldn't steal a cow. Apollo was furious. I'll punish you for this, he raged. And Hermes leaped from his crib and began to run, Apollo fast on his heels. When the other gods saw this sight, they burst out laughing. Look at the great god Apollo, chasing a baby, they laughed. But Apollo cried, This little boy is no ordinary creature. He's stolen my cows. And then Apollo raged to his father Zeus. Father, he must return them to me. Tell him so. Now Zeus was not pleased with the theft, but even he could not help but smile at the mischief caused by this amazing little lad. Still, he wished his sons to love each other, and so he commanded Hermes to return the cows. Hermes bowed his head before his father and said, I will, father. To make amends, Hermes gave Apollo his lyre made of tortoise shell, and so the brothers came to love each other. And from that day on, they often exchanged gifts and wisdom. Zeus made him the herald of the gods, placing upon his head a golden hat with wings. Upon his feet, Hermes wore a pair of golden winged sandals. As the years passed, Hermes became a favorite of all the gods, and of men too, for he often was the protector of heroes, guiding many to safety and comfort, but always with a gleam in his mischievous eye.