Fate And Free Will In Homer's Odyssey

A Predetermined Series of Unfortunate Events Most people think about life as a result of a series of decisions that affect where they end up. On the other hand, in The Odyssey translated by Robert Fitzgerald, the characters seem to have little to no control over the outcome of their lives. Fate overpowers free will in the sense that a character’s final destination is controlled by fate. As with Amphinomus and so many others, their fate appears predetermined.

Fate forcefully controls several characters in The Odyssey. Several characters experience a sense of helplessness when they are told something that involves their future. This is first seen when Odysseus is told that he must travel to the underworld to hear a prophecy from Teirêsias. Odysseus describes his

There is good reason behind Odysseus’s journey to the underworld. He sees the power of fate and prophecies first hand throughout his life. In the second book Zeus sends a sign down in the form of two eagles which make the suitors hearts flood with “foreboding things to come” (Fitzgerald 22). Lord Halithersês interprets this omen and says “Odysseus will not be absent from his family long: he is already near, carrying in him a bloody doom for all these men” (Fitzgerald 24). Sure enough, against all odds, the son of Laertes returns and kills all the suitors who dishonored his house. The power of prophecy is shown when Odysseus travels to the underworld to hear a prophecy from Teirêsias. Odysseus understands this power, and is willing to go to great lengths to gain this advantage. After Teirêsias tells Odysseus the prophecy Odysseus replies by saying “Teirêsias my life runs on then as the gods have spun it” (Fitzgerald 189). The raider of cities accepts that his life will play out exactly as foretold by the prophecy. Omens and prophecies prove that fate overpowers free will. By any means necessary, fate finds a