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 enjoy showing up now and then at various temples built in his honour
one day Apollo swung by the temple and 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 gifts
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 asa 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
as the story goes
every town in ancient Greeks hoped a God would choose to look after the townspeople
towns rarely had more than one God to keep an eye on their best interests
because most gods did not share a well
at this time in history
not every village had a God
things were just getting started in ancient Greeks
Poseidon loved watching over towns
he usually picked coastal towns since he was the lord of the sea
Poseidon was a very powerful God
he was a moody fellow too
he liked having people build temples in his honour and bring him gifts
they were not very useful gifts for a god of the sea
but he enjoyed getting them anyway
as Greece grew and developed new towns sprang up all the time
Poseidon was always on the lookout for new coastal towns
he was not the only God who loved to be in charge
Athena along with other gods enjoyed that role as well
one day on the same day
both Athena and Poseidon noticed a new coastal village
they both claimed this village as their own
most of the time humans were grateful
when they were selected to be under the care of a god
but two gods that was one too many
Poseidon wanted the townspeople to choose which God they wanted
himself or his niece Athena
but the people did not want to choose
they could only see trouble ahead if they did
Athena goddess of wisdom daughter of Zeus understood their worry
she challenged her uncle Poseidon to a contest
both gods would give the town a gift
the townspeople could decide which gift was the more useful
Poseidon laughed in his mighty laugh and accepted her challenge
he slapped his Spectre against the side of the mountain
a stream appeared
the people were excited a source of fresh water was so important
but when they tried to drink the water
they discovered it was not fresh at all
it was salt water
Athena waved her arm and an olive tree appeared
the people nibbled at the olives they were delicious
the people were excited
the olive tree would provide wood for building homes
branches would provide kindling for kitchen stoves and fireplaces
the olives could be used for food
the fruit could be pressed to release cooking oil
it was wonderful
but there's was a coastal village
the people could not risk angering the Lord of the sea the mighty Poseidon
as it turned out they did not have to choose
Poseidon chose for them
his laughs sent waves crashing against the shore line
Poseidon proclaimed his niece the winner
that's how a small village gained a most powerful and wise Guardian
the goddess Athena
a guardian who helped them rise to fame
in her honour they named their village Athens