diff --git a/modules/cassandra/src/main/java/org/testcontainers/cassandra/CassandraContainer.java b/modules/cassandra/src/main/java/org/testcontainers/cassandra/CassandraContainer.java
index c687c63eaa3..73a0c83443e 100644
--- a/modules/cassandra/src/main/java/org/testcontainers/cassandra/CassandraContainer.java
+++ b/modules/cassandra/src/main/java/org/testcontainers/cassandra/CassandraContainer.java
@@ -9,10 +9,7 @@
 import org.testcontainers.utility.DockerImageName;
 import org.testcontainers.utility.MountableFile;
 
-import java.io.File;
 import java.net.InetSocketAddress;
-import java.net.URISyntaxException;
-import java.net.URL;
 import java.util.Optional;
 
 /**
@@ -30,6 +27,8 @@ public class CassandraContainer extends GenericContainer<CassandraContainer> {
 
     private static final String DEFAULT_LOCAL_DATACENTER = "datacenter1";
 
+    private static final String DEFAULT_INIT_SCRIPT_FILENAME = "init.cql";
+
     private static final String CONTAINER_CONFIG_LOCATION = "/etc/cassandra";
 
     private static final String USERNAME = "cassandra";
@@ -80,26 +79,25 @@ protected void containerIsStarted(InspectContainerResponse containerInfo) {
      * Load init script content and apply it to the database if initScriptPath is set
      */
     private void runInitScriptIfRequired() {
-        if (initScriptPath != null) {
+        if (this.initScriptPath != null) {
             try {
-                URL resource = Thread.currentThread().getContextClassLoader().getResource(initScriptPath);
-                if (resource == null) {
-                    logger().warn("Could not load classpath init script: {}", initScriptPath);
-                    throw new ScriptLoadException(
-                        "Could not load classpath init script: " + initScriptPath + ". Resource not found."
-                    );
-                }
-                // The init script is executed as is by the cqlsh command, so copy it into the container.
-                String targetInitScriptName = new File(resource.toURI()).getName();
-                copyFileToContainer(MountableFile.forClasspathResource(initScriptPath), targetInitScriptName);
-                new CassandraDatabaseDelegate(this).execute(null, targetInitScriptName, -1, false, false);
-            } catch (URISyntaxException e) {
-                logger().warn("Could not copy init script into container: {}", initScriptPath);
-                throw new ScriptLoadException("Could not copy init script into container: " + initScriptPath, e);
+                final MountableFile originalInitScript = MountableFile.forClasspathResource(this.initScriptPath);
+                // The init script is executed as is by the cqlsh command, so copy it into the container. The name
+                // of the script is generic since it's not important to keep the original name.
+                copyFileToContainer(originalInitScript, DEFAULT_INIT_SCRIPT_FILENAME);
+                new CassandraDatabaseDelegate(this).execute(null, DEFAULT_INIT_SCRIPT_FILENAME, -1, false, false);
+            } catch (IllegalArgumentException e) {
+                // MountableFile.forClasspathResource will throw an IllegalArgumentException if the resource cannot
+                // be found.
+                logger().warn("Could not load classpath init script: {}", this.initScriptPath);
+                throw new ScriptLoadException(
+                    "Could not load classpath init script: " + this.initScriptPath + ". Resource not found.",
+                    e
+                );
             } catch (ScriptUtils.ScriptStatementFailedException e) {
-                logger().error("Error while executing init script: {}", initScriptPath, e);
+                logger().error("Error while executing init script: {}", this.initScriptPath, e);
                 throw new ScriptUtils.UncategorizedScriptException(
-                    "Error while executing init script: " + initScriptPath,
+                    "Error while executing init script: " + this.initScriptPath,
                     e
                 );
             }
diff --git a/modules/cassandra/src/test/java/org/testcontainers/cassandra/CassandraContainerTest.java b/modules/cassandra/src/test/java/org/testcontainers/cassandra/CassandraContainerTest.java
index 632966d1bb3..d156a28ef0c 100644
--- a/modules/cassandra/src/test/java/org/testcontainers/cassandra/CassandraContainerTest.java
+++ b/modules/cassandra/src/test/java/org/testcontainers/cassandra/CassandraContainerTest.java
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@
 import org.testcontainers.utility.DockerImageName;
 
 import static org.assertj.core.api.Assertions.assertThat;
+import static org.assertj.core.api.Assertions.catchThrowable;
 
 public class CassandraContainerTest {
 
@@ -81,6 +82,16 @@ public void testInitScript() {
         }
     }
 
+    @Test
+    public void testNonexistentInitScript() {
+        try (
+            CassandraContainer cassandraContainer = new CassandraContainer(CASSANDRA_IMAGE)
+                .withInitScript("unknown_script.cql")
+        ) {
+            assertThat(catchThrowable(cassandraContainer::start)).isInstanceOf(ContainerLaunchException.class);
+        }
+    }
+
     @Test
     public void testInitScriptWithRequiredAuthentication() {
         try (