This expression refers to a person whose valid warnings, forewarnings or fears are never believed by others

You don't have to be a Cassandra to fear for that company's future. Its stock is at a record low; it closed down the 70% of its abroad offices and the market doesn't show any sign of improvement for the near future

Non è certo fare la Cassandra quando dico che quella ditta finirà per dichiarare fallimento. Le sue azioni hanno toccato il minimo storico, ormai ha già chiuso il 70% delle filiali nel mondo e il mercato non dà segni di possibile miglioramento in tempi brevi

Don't be a Cassandra! Don't worry, everything will work out fine and your son will come back safe and sound from the military expedition in Iraq

Non fare la Cassandra! Non preoccuparti, vedrai che tutto andrà per il meglio e tuo figlio tornerà sano e salvo dalla spedizione militare in Iraq

In Greek mythology, Cassandra was the daughter of Priam, king of Troy, and the sister of Hector. She was a Trojan priestess of Apollo, who fancied her and gave her the gift of prophecy, but - when she refused his advances - Apollo cursed Cassandra to never be believed, in spite of the truth of her prophecies. During the Trojan war, her ill-omened and deadly prophecies were ignored, and she wasn't believed even when she begged the Trojans not to carry the famous horse inside the town walls. The Greeks won the war: during the sack of Troy, Cassandra was dragged from the temple of Athena and raped by Ajax. To vindicate such an offense, Athena sent a storm that sank most of the Greek ships on their way home, causing a huge loss of human lives.