Calcas

Calcas or Calcante (in ancient Greek, κάλχας) was a powerful fortune teller of Greek mythology, one of the most famous. He acted as Augur in the Trojan War.

It was a native of Megara or Micenas, son of Téstor and grandson of the god Apollo, who gave him the gift of prophecy.

prophesied that the presence of Achilles was necessary to obtain the Greek victory in the Trojan War when he was only nine years old. He also considered the presence of philoctetes necessary.

He also predicted that the Troy War would last ten years, and assured Agamemnon that the only way to appease Artemisa and obtain favorable winds was to sacrifice her daughter Ifigenia, so that the goddess stopped retaining the Greek fleet in the Aulide port.

In the tenth year of the campaign, he revealed that Apollo's favor would only be achieved with the return of the captive creeid to his father, who was a priest of the protective God of the Trojans. This return caused the dispute between Agamemnon and Achilles for another captive: Briseida.

Calcas also advised the construction of the Trojan horse, according to some versions, although others attribute it to Odysseus. He predicted the random return of the victors, and did not embark with them. Instead of leaving with the Aquea fleet, he moved to Colophon, City of Asia Minor, or the nearby Sanctuary of Claros, where he had a competition against another fortune teller, Mopso, maternal grandson of tiresias. After being defeated by Mopso, he died of suffering for having found a fortune teller better than him. Another version about his end says that a fortune teller prophesied the date of his death. When the designated day arrived, Calcas saw that the prediction did not materialize and a strong laughter attack entered that caused him to die suffocated.

Calcas appears in Book I of the illegated , prophesying the duration of the site, as well as in all the tragedies that take the Trojan War as a starting point.