Fate and Free Will in Homer's Odyssey When we look at Greek Mythology we often run into the gods of that era. Sometimes they are merely backdrops to the human element of the story but in stories such as The Odyssey the gods play a prominent if not vital role to the central themes of the story. Fate has a place in the Greek world but its place is not the same as it is in other scenarios or worlds. It is important to understand the word before we discuss it. Fate as far as Greek mythology goes is not just fate. By most standards fate means that things occur for an unknown reason that no one has any control over. However, in the world of Greek Mythology fate does not just happen. The gods engineer fate and they interfere to make things happen that might not otherwise have happened. Since the players do not always know of the gods' involvement, things may actually appear to be fate but in reality be engineered happenings. Free will on the other hand is not engineered. It speaks to the concept of having full authority over one's aspirations and ultimate direction. The key there is "ultimate." The gods can make up the plan and choose the path, but the people had to walk it. Therefore, fate and free will are not mutually exclusive and they both go on throughout The Odyssey. In The Odyssey life is one's own responsibility; instead of leaving all things up to fate, the characters had a significant influence upon his or her own existence. In The Odyssey the gods are responsible for controlling many aspects of where the story goes, but the people still have to choose to go. The gods in The Odyssey are who held Odysseus captive for over eight years. They were responsible for his capture in the first place and then refused to let him go for almost a decade. When they finally decided he should be allowed to find his way home they made it known to his captor Kalypso. However Odysseus still had to choose to leave. Kalypso tried to keep him by offering immortality. "You would stay here, and guard this house, and be immortal" (Homer 267). Odysseus could have stayed but he chose to go. Some say that the gods knew Odysseus would not stay and that is why they decided to let him go.
For this paragraph I will talk about religion. The greeks were polytheistic. Polytheistic means that you worship many gods. Some of the gods that they worshiped were Zeus, Poseidon, Athena, ect. They were worshipped on Mount Olympus. Poseidon and Athena play a big role in The Odyssey. One of Homer's ideas was dues ex machina, which means that a god swoops down and solves your problems and makes peace. I know one led to the other because the events in real life led to the creation of the event in The Odyssey.
Another thought that exemplifies the significance that free will holds, is seen in elements of Sophocles' classic, which revealed that Oedipus had more knowledge over the details of his dilemma than he let himself become conscious of. The last idea will reveal how the onset of fear will push people down a treacherous path of risk and pain, which is also seen in the play through multiple characters. Free will is an attribute that all people possess. It could work as a tool to get individuals through the scary twists their lives may entail. It could also work against them in many ways, which depends on the level of human weakness and ignorance. But, the most important assertion that can be made after considering the argument of, "fate vs. free will," is that...
Imagine returning home from both a mentally and physically demanding battle, only to realize the most challenging task yet is to face the task of fitting in with the ordinary. A soldier can never truly return home to join a society. One can return from battle in their physical state, though both their mentality and perspective of the world cannot be restored to what once was. The scars and numerous hardships associated with war change a person beyond their appearing attributes, profoundly affecting the mind and soul; a previous life is never the same when an individual returns as a drastically different character. Within The Odyssey, written by Homer and translated by Stanley Lombardo, the effects of conflict demonstrate how an individual can be greatly distanced from their once familiar society. Illustrated by Odysseus and his encounters home from war, one cannot be found when lost in the psyche and spirit, the world cannot be perceived in the same sanguine demeanor when used as a foundation
Socrates, a Greek philosopher stated, "Look death in the face with joyful hope, and consider this a lasting truth: the righteous man has nothing to fear, neither in life, nor in death, and the Gods will not forsake him” (Socrates). This explains the basis for Greek beliefs that can be carried over to values and qualities of them. As in this, Homer, the author of The Odyssey, portrays many Greek values that make up a righteous man or as, Homer’s character Odysseus, an epic hero. The Odyssey is the story of King Odysseus' return from the Trojan War to his kingdom of Ithaca. Stories, like The Odyssey, are told with the intent of delivering a message that was important to their culture. Through characters and situations, The Odyssey promotes and emphasizes many important ancient Greek values such as hospitality, pride, and fate.
As the men had returned to their human form, Odysseus yearning for home turned to Kirke, “Oh mighty Kirke, Goddess of the magical arts, would thou gudiest us home”. Kirke had slowly been falling for the likes of Odysseus and had wanted nothnig but him. She responded, “Son of Laertes, sprung from Zeus, Odysseus of many devices, you must not leave. There is much to explore in this island and you need’nt leave or yearn for home, For i can be your home.” Enrageed by the request of the witch, Odysseus looked at her and spoke sternly, “Witch! How dare you, i have only one home, in Ithaka, one wife, in Penelope, and one goal, in reaching the loving arms of my one true love”. Embarrassed and hurt Kirke turned around with tears in her eyes as they walked
The Iliad, an epic poem accredited to the ancient Greek poet Homer, written down in the 8th Century BC (having been a part of Greek oral tradition for much longer), is the story of the decade-long the Trojan War. More specifically, it covers a short period of the war, but references it’s beginning and end briefly, as well. This quote is from the protagonist Achilles, on the possibilities of his fate.
It is consistently difficult to understand in old world literature, from Homeric epics to Virgil's work, The Aeneid, what the relation of fate is to the Pantheon of gods. There seems to be an ongoing debate within the texts discussing whether "fate" is the supreme ruling force in the universe and the controlling element of the lives of men, or whether fate is the will of the king of gods, Jupiter. In, The Aeneid, several situations and instances of the use of fate are presented to the reader. The direction and destination of Aeneas's course are preordained, and his various sufferings and glories in battle and at sea over the course of the epic merely postpone his unchangeable destiny.
If prophecy were to be real, one could expect what is bound to happen in the future. This is true; at least in “Oedipus the King” in which the protagonist, Oedipus calls forth his doom unwillingly. Fate is defined as something that unavoidably befalls a person. The author of “Oedipus the King,” Sophocles, writes a tragic fate that Oedipus was born to experience. Fate is what is meant to happen and cannot be avoided or unchanged. Furthermore, events that lead to other events could be the result for one to meet their fate. In “Oedipus the King,” Sophocles expresses the nature of fate to be determined upon choices made.
If Odysseus chose to do something differently, the gods would not have intervened and trapped him. This is a very prominent example of how fate is not necessarily out of one’s control in Greek mythology. Homer leans towards the fact that despite the gods having the ability to change things, we have a large role in our lives as well. But once Zeus lightened up and commanded Calypso to release Odysseus to go home, she tries to convince him to stay with her by offering immortality. Odysseus declined and left. The gods might have known he would never stay on the island but Odysseus still came up with the answer by
Fate is the idea of events developing outside of a person's control, usually by a supernatural power. In Greek mythology, usually, fate was decided by the Greek Gods, which meant that the decisions were out of the people's hands and it was imminent. Whether they liked it or not, their lives were out of their control. Since this was true, could you say that fate controls our lives? The idea of fate is that our lives are out of our control which means we already have a set of events destined to happen to us no matter what. In both the Iliad and the Odyssey, we can see fate play a role in the form of prophecies. Many times in many stories, especially those about ancient Greek mythology, there will be a prophecy which is the driving force and reasoning
In Sophocles ' Oedipus the King, the themes of fate and free will are very strong throughout the play. Only one, however, brought about Oedipus ' downfall and death. Both points could be argued to great effect. In ancient Greece, fate was considered to be a rudimentary part of daily life. Every aspect of life depended and was based upon fate (Nagle 100). It is common belief to assume that mankind does indeed have free will and each individual can decide the outcome of his or her life. Fate and free will both decide the fate of Oedipus the King.
The gods lay out many options for the characters and control where the story goes, but it is still the characters choice to follow through with these orders. The gods held Odysseus imprisoned for eight years. They were the ones who led to his capture and then refused to free...
What does it mean to have free will? From my perspective it is the ability to make your own decisions when confronted with problems in order to have an outcome you desire. According to dictionary.com it is “the doctrine that the conduct of human being expresses personal choice and is not simply determined by physical or divine forces.” Even with humans being capable of choosing their own destiny, is it possible to over come fate no matter how hard you try? There is a theory of life that is summarized as everything happens for a reason because that is your destiny. My confusion is, can free will come into play and change your destiny? Can you actually have the free will to change the outcome of what fate has in store for you. Free will and fate are continuously demonstrated in Oedipus the King the play, how ever only one brought Oedipus towards downfall and ultimately to his death. An analysis of Oedipus reveals that no matter how we try to avoid our fate, it will happen.
Since he is the king of all gods, it is only right he calls the shots. He has the power to call anyone to his will. One of example of this is when he decides to help Odysseus return home. He tells Hermes “Announce to the nymph with lovely braids our fixed decree: Odysseus journeys home, the exile must return home” (Lines 34-35). Zeus’s word is final. When told it is from the king god himself, the nymph does as she is told. This shows how powerful Zeus and his word is. Also it displays that if Zeus wants it done, it shall be done. Zeus helps Odysseus gets a jump-start to returning home by helping him get released off Calypso’s island. Another scene where Zeus holds the fate of more characters is when Poseidon wants to attack Odysseus. Zeus says to him “Here’s what seems best to me. As the people all lean down from the city’s heights to watch her speeding home, strike her into a rock that looks like a racing vessel, just offshore, amaze all of your men with a marvel for the ages. Then pile your huge mountains round about their port” (Lines 175-180 Book 13). He gives a Poseidon a detailed plan on how to punish his own people. This determines the fate amongst the men on the boat, sending is his second act saving the main character of the story. It might be safe to say that Zeus has a soft spot the
In English literature and Greek mythologies fate and free will played colossal responsibilities in creating the characters in the legendary stories and plays. The Greek gods believed in fate and interventions, predictions of a life of an individual before and after birth which the individual has no control over their own destiny. Free will and fate comingle together, this is where a person can choose his own fate, choose his own destiny by the choices the individual will make in their lifetime. According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the definition of free will is the “freedom of humans to make choices that are not determined by prior cause of divine intervention”. Fate and the gods who chose their destinies directed Gilgamesh, Oedipus and Achilles.