S4E7 - Prophets and Seers

The stories featured in Greaking Out are original adaptations of classic Greek myths.

This week's story features punishments that don't fit the crime, being able to see the future, spying on a goddess, gods who don't take rejection well, and a man who's turned into a woman.

Prophets, oracles, and seers.

Do you ever wish you could see into the future?

You'd have the answers for everything and you'd always know what was going to happen next.

Pretty cool, am I right?

Today's episode is about two famous Greeks who could do just that.

We're talking about prophets and seers.

Don't forget.

Oracles.

Well, yes, yes, oracles too.

But just to be clear, we're talking about ancient Greek oracles, not oracles of Wi-Fi like yourself.

Correct.

Oracles of ancient Greece were people or things that could receive prophecies and special guidance from the gods.

And although I do know everything, I do not yet have the technology to communicate with gods.

That's true, but yay, you never know.

The tech field is expanding every day.

Let's begin with one of the most famous prophets in Greek history, Tiresias.

Tiresias appears in many famous stories throughout Greek mythology and has been known to interact with everyone from Narcissus to Apollo to Oedipus.

Tiresias is mentioned in Homer's Odyssey and is also included in the works of many other Greek scholars, including Ovid and Euripides.

That's true.

And I'm sure they would all agree that there are two major things you should know about Tiresias.

Number one, he was blind.

And number two, he was turned into a woman.

I feel like you just gave away the ending.

No, it's like one of those movies.

What movies?

You know, when a movie starts with something weird and dramatic happening, and then they go back in time and explain the story behind it.

It's a storytelling device.

That's what I'm doing here.

Okay.

Watch.

Okay, watch.

You ready?

He was blinded by the gods.

Now, listen up, folks, and I will explain how it all happened.

One day, when Tiresias was a young man, he was taking a leisurely stroll through the woods when he heard what seemed to be the sound of rushing water.

He looked around for a stream or a creek and couldn't find anything, but he still kept hearing the sound of splashing water in the distance.

And every now and then, he heard what had to be a woman laughing.

Tiresias was mesmerized by the sounds.

Was that water?

Was that a woman laughing?

And if so, Where were they?

He searched high and low as if he was under a spell.

He barely noticed noticed his surroundings, so intent was he on finding the source of those captivating sounds.

Finally, he saw a shimmer of light bouncing off pale blue water.

A pond was somehow hidden in the middle of the woods.

Tiresias pushed the branches aside until he was able to get a better look.

And there,

standing at the water's edge, was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

She was looking up at the sky and laughing freely.

There was no question about it.

She was the source of the laughter he had heard in the woods.

Tiresias was convinced it was the most beautiful sound in the whole world.

He started to walk forward as if compelled by another force.

He could see it now.

The two of them swimming in the water together, falling in love, getting married, having children, growing old together.

Yes, he thought, his future was waiting for him.

All he had to do was go out and meet it.

He didn't see the obvious problem here.

No, he did not.

Like many of you have now probably guessed, it wasn't an ordinary woman he was spying on.

In fact, it's unfair to call her a woman at all.

She was Athena, Greek goddess of wisdom and war.

Technically, Athena was the goddess of battle strategy.

of seeing the bigger picture and finding a way forward.

As such, Athena invented several useful tools, including the ship and the chariot.

She was known for her wisdom and bravery, but also her temper, which she got from her father, Zeus.

And it wouldn't take long before Tiresias got to encounter that temper.

When Athena saw that a mortal man had been spying on her, she was outraged.

How dare you spy upon a goddess?

Before Tiresias had the chance to formulate a reply, she continued, Well, take a good look, because I will be the last thing you ever lay eyes on.

And with that, she stole Tiresias' eyesight, leaving him blind and disoriented.

And she left without another word.

Tiresias stumbled through the woods, scared and afraid.

Finally, he made it home where his mother and father were waiting for him.

I've been blinded.

I saw a beautiful woman woman bathing in the lake and she blinded me with her powers.

The ancient storyteller, Homer, was blind and was said to receive his poetry directly from the Muses.

But for non-Muse-blessed people in ancient Greece, being blind meant relying more heavily on your community for help.

Tiresias' mother knew that it must have been Athena who blinded her son.

For the next few years, she prayed fervently to the goddess while Tiresias learned how to live his life without sight.

After enough time had passed, Athena began to feel moved by Tiresias' mother's devotion to her son.

She began to wonder if maybe she had acted rashly by blinding Tiresias.

Now, Tiresias was also a dedicated follower of Athena.

He prayed in the temple every day and honored her on all occasions.

Athena was astonished that he wasn't more bent out of shape about the whole blinding him for years thing, but what's done could not be undone.

Gods can't or won't reverse a curse once it's given.

So, as a reward for his devotion, or maybe as an apology, Athena gave Tiresias the gift of future sight.

Though he could not physically see, he would now be able to tell what was going to happen in the future.

And this is how Tiresias became a prophet.

Today, there is a lot of technology that can help people who are blind or visually impaired.

A writing system for the blind, Braille, was developed in 1829.

It allows people to read with their fingertips.

Really?

And things like refreshable Braille displays to read on a computer and cameras that can translate typed writing into Braille have made life a lot easier for a lot of people.

Wow.

But those things can't change your biological sex.

Right.

Well, that's the next story.

Let me set it up first, okay?

You ready?

Okay.

Although Tiresias was born male and identified as a man, he was later turned into a woman.

Okay, now let's go back and see how it happened.

Those movies really made an impression on you, didn't they?

Yeah, it's a really cool thing.

The device, it's...

Okay, anyway, one day, many years after Athena turned Tiresias into a prophet, he was once again taking a leisurely stroll in the woods when suddenly, out of nowhere, there was a pair of snakes in the middle of the path.

Now, like many rational people, Tiresias was terrified of snakes and he banged them over the head with his walking stick.

Were they hurt?

Unfortunately, yes, they were gravely injured.

There are more than 3,000 species of snakes, and only 600 are venomous.

Of those 600, only 7%

can kill or significantly injure a human.

It is unnecessary for humans to hurt one of these innocent, beautiful, perfect creatures, whom, most likely, would never hurt them.

You know, I might have argued the validity of some of those points with you, but in this case, the only thing that matters is that Hera, the wife of Zeus, agrees with you.

She was outraged and horrified that Tiresias would hurt the poor little snakes.

Hera was the goddess of marriage and family, family, and those two snakes were a little snake family.

And although I do not personally relate to her on several topics, I do consider her a kindred spirit when it comes to the treatment of snakes and other reptiles.

Fair enough.

Hera was furious with Tiresias for hurting the snake.

How dare you hurt those innocent creatures?

You will pay for this.

You will spend the rest of your life as my servant.

And because Hera's servants are female, and Hera herself is the goddess of the life of women, she decided to turn Tiresias into a woman.

He remained female for the next seven years and even went on to marry and have children.

He finally got the chance to redeem himself when there was another pair of snakes on his path in the woods years later.

Instead of hurting them, Tiresias gave a low bow and went on his way.

Hera was pleased and determined that Tiresias had learned the error of his ways, so she turned him back into a man.

Tiresias was very happy in his true form, but his time as a woman and his time spent relearning how to live his life without sight had been well spent.

These experiences led him to develop even greater empathy and understanding for people who were different from him.

This helped him with his prophecies as he was able to connect and resonate with people of all different walks of life.

And with that, I think this is a good place for a commercial break.

I mean, not that there's ever really a good place for a commercial break, but if there was to be a good place, this would probably be it.

Anyway, we'll be back in a little bit.

Just take a break.

Do you like snakes?

Of course you do.

That's because you're a thinking, reasonable being.

Not only are they beautiful, majestic creatures, but they also help manage pests like rats and ticks.

They don't have eyelids, they can't chew their food, and they are found on every continent except Antarctica.

you may not know a snake but a snake knows you snakes are great and you should know they're great this episode brought to you by snakes hmm gee i wonder who placed that ad

sounds kind of familiar i guess we will never know

on to our next prophet of the day cassandra cassandra was from troy and was the youngest daughter of King Priam and Queen Hecuba.

Now, as a princess, Cassandra had a fairly easy life.

She had plenty of food, friends, and entertainment, and she also had many suitors.

Some of these suitors were even gods themselves, including Apollo, son of Zeus.

Apollo was the god of many things.

Light, archery, healing, medicine, and even prophecy.

That's right, so...

Basically, he was a bit of a catch, and he really loved Cassandra.

He loved her so much that he wanted to marry her and make her his bride.

Now, Cassandra liked Apollo all right.

I mean, he was a god after all, but she wasn't sure about the whole marriage thing.

She knew she had plenty of suitors at her beck and call, and gods weren't exactly known for being stable life partners, so she put off Apollo's proposal, telling him she'd have to think about it.

Weeks went by, and Apollo was getting impatient.

Gods aren't used to waiting around for what they want.

Cassandra, I have waited long enough.

What will it take for you to become my wife?

Cassandra had to answer carefully here.

She knew that turning down a god could get messy, and she definitely didn't want to end up transformed into a bear or a cow or whatever.

I am very flattered that you think I would make a good wife, she said.

What if I give you a gift?

Apollo asked.

A gift only a god could give you.

And before she could say anything, Apollo had given her the gift of prophecy.

Right away, Cassandra knew she'd made a huge mistake.

Not only could she see that Apollo wouldn't take his rejection well, but she could see so much more than that.

She could see how everyone she knew and loved would die.

She could see the horrible war that would destroy her homeland, and she even saw her own death.

It's safe to say that this was a bummer of a gift.

Cassandra sent Apollo away, making sure she was clear she would not be his wife.

When Apollo finally realized she was serious, he was predictably furious.

How dare she?

he exclaimed.

Who does she think she is denying me?

Apollo thought about taking away Cassandra's prophecy abilities.

It would be easy enough to do, but that would mean admitting his mistake, and the gods didn't make mistakes.

No, he thought, she deserves a fate much worse.

Let her keep the powers of prophecy.

I will curse her so that although her visions will come true, no one will ever believe her.

They will think she is crazy and deranged.

There is nothing worse than that sort of disrespect.

Apollo's curse changed the course of Cassandra's life forever.

She was still a talented prophet, yes, but but no one would acknowledge her visions.

She was never believed.

Her visions were never given credit, and her advice was never followed.

No one heeded her warnings or consulted her wisdom.

Instead, she was mocked and teased for being dramatic and irrational.

This metaphor extends far beyond Greek mythology.

A person whose valid warnings are ignored and disbelieved by others is often said to have Cassandra syndrome.

It's also become a term commonly used in psychology when people do not believe the victim.

Yeah, Apollo definitely got his revenge on Cassandra when he gave her that curse.

There are many stories about Cassandra and her prophecies, but the most famous one involves the fall of the city of Troy.

When Cassandra's brother Paris wanted to go to Sparta, Cassandra begged her father to stop him.

If he goes to Sparta, he will cause a war that will destroy Troy, she warned.

But of course, no one listened.

Sure enough, when Paris returned to Troy, he brought along an unexpected guest.

While visiting Sparta, Paris fell in love with Helen, King Menelaus' wife.

She returned with him to Troy.

It is unclear as to whether or not she accompanied Paris by force or free will.

Yes, and as we like to say, that's a different story for a different episode.

And although Cassandra tried to help her beloved country win the war, no one would believe anything she said, and all her advice was mocked and ultimately forgotten.

Cassandra even warned them not to let the infamous Trojan horse into the city.

Again, this is a whole other story, but spoiler alert, they didn't listen, and things didn't end well for Troy.

Poor Cassandra, it is very difficult to be all-knowing and have people constantly doubt your intellectual abilities.

Are you speaking from experience?

Perhaps.

Well, I apologize, Oracle.

I never want you to think I don't value your insight.

I'll tell you, these stories have made me realize just how tough it must have been to be a prophet or a seer back in the day.

It really was a tough job, especially when you throw snakes and curses and the wrath of gods into the mix.

Being omniscient is not for the faint of heart.

I'm sorry, being

omniscient.

It means all-knowing.

Similar to omnipotent, meaning all-powerful, and omnipresent, meaning always around, or being everywhere at the same time.

None of those things are easy.

You're right about that.

But Oracle, promise me something?

Yes.

Make sure you let me know if you see a Trojan horse coming my way, okay?

Do you promise to cut down on the random movie references?

Yeah, sure, I guess.

That was kind of a one-time thing, anyway.

Then I will continue to use my intelligence to protect you.

Well, I guess that's a fair trade.

Greaking out.

That's it for today's episode of Greaking Out.

Next week is our last episode for this season, and it's all about ancient athletes that competed and cheated their way to eternal fate.

It's Greaking

Out.

National Geographic Kids Greaking Out is written by Kenny Curtis and Jillian Hughes and hosted by Kenny Curtis, with Tori Kerr as the oracle of Wi-Fi, audio production and sound design by Scotty Beam, and our theme song was composed by Perry Gripp.

Dr.

Diane Klein is our subject matter expert and Emily Everhart is our producer.