Fate In The Odyssey Essay

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

of most of the main character's actions. This is evident in many books all through history.
In the Iliad, the main point of the story and the reasoning of Achilles actions is the prophecy of him either dying at a young age in battle with glory and honor to his name or live a long life, but he will lose all glory and reputation. It says, "Mother tells me, the immortal goddess Thetis with her glistening feet, that two fates bear me on to the day of death. If I hold out here and I lay siege to Troy, my journey home is gone, but my glory never dies. If I voyage back to the fatherland I love, my pride, my glory dies . . . true, but the life that's left me will be long, the stroke of death will not come on me quickly.'' (Book 9). This is the prophecy given to Achilles by his mother, a Goddess. In the Iliad, we see the fate of Achilles being controlled by a higher power (Gods) and this shows how fate completely controlled their lives (or so they believed...). While this is true, in the Iliad, Achilles died in battle, but he didn't die very honorably (in my opinion). He did die in a battle which can be viewed as honorable, but in my eyes getting shot in the heel with an arrow and dying isn't the most glorious way to go.
In ancient Greek mythology, the fate of a person or a prophecy was either given by a God or Goddess or an oracle.

An oracle is a priest/priestess that gives prophecies and advice from the gods. Oracles and Prophets usually could see omens and signs of something that would soon occur. In the Odyssey, there were many omens with birds. Odysseus himself prophecies that he'll return home very soon after finding out that his wife had a dream with a bird song. Another prophecy was from Teiresias which read, "...and render ceremonious sacrifice to the lord Poseidon, one ram and one bull, and a mounter of sows, a boar pig, and make your way home again and render holy hecatombs to the immortal gods who hold the wide heaven, all of them in order. Death will come to you from the sea, in some altogether unwarlike way, and it will end you in the ebbing time of a sleek old age. Your people about you will be prosperous. All this is true that I tell you.”’ (Book 11) Teiresias tells Odysseus about his fate. Teiresais is a prophet so Odysseus trusts his judgment as he assumes it's a godsend message, it also shows how much prophecies were believed back then, there wasn’t even a questions about it. The outcome wasn’t told in the story, but it’s assumed it comes

true.
On the other hand, in this story, a God himself says that fate isn't real. "Oh for shame, how the mortals put the blame on us gods, for they say evils come from us, but it is they, rather, who by their own recklessness win sorrow beyond what is given...' (Zeus, Book 1). This shows that the humans like to blame their misfortune and choices on fate and the Gods because they don't want to take responsibility for their own actions. Also, in another part of the story, Tiresias prophecies another prophecy and says this, "I think you will not escape Shaker of the Earth, who holds a grudge against you in his heart, and because you blinded his dear son, hates you. But even so and still you might come back..." (Book 11). Teiresias saying this proves that fate isn't real, therefore it doesn’t control us. He uses words such as 'I think' and 'might' which proves that he didn't get the prophecy from a God because if he did, he would be sure of it.
Personally, I don't believe in fate.

The only thing I do believe is destined and already set for us is our death date. This might be because I just don't want to think that my life as already set and everything is gonna happen one way. I like to think that I chose to do a certain thing and it could've turned out a certain way. I haven't read all of the Quran, but from what I understand, I can see that the moment of death is imminent and that the events of our lives might not be completely set out. Sometimes I like to think of it as timelines. Each timeline has a certain set of events, but there is an infinite amount. It goes on endlessly and in the end, you pick one, which is your life. Even if this is true, it means that there are an infinite amount of fates ready for us to make, but doesn't that make the word fate obsolete? Fate usually means one ending to a story, in this case, a life, but the way I see it is that there are an infinite amount of sets of events which could occur. This brings me to a popular theory, the Chaos theory/domino effect/butterfly effect. Each one has the same meaning of whether it's something as small as a butterfly landing on a flower, it can change the events of the world completely. This is just like a set of dominos when you push one over, the rest of them fall. It seems pretty bizarre, but when you look back at your life, you might notice small things that led you to where you are right now. While that is true, I believe that every

birth and death is set even before the person is born, so the events of a person's life don't affect that (but it might happen in a different way). For example, if my grandfather has joined the military, my dad would've never lived outside of Egypt which would've totally changed who he is and, because of that, who I am. One little thing can change everything so for that reason, I do not entirely believe in fate.
When you think of destiny or fate, you usually think of finding your soulmate or one true love, but it wasn't always like that. As we can see in the Iliad and the Odyssey, the ways people viewed fate was the way someone's life would conclude. Fate is portrayed as a powerful force that cannot be changed. Because of this, people believed so strongly in fate and destiny. In the Iliad, Achilles says, “Why so much grief for me? No man will hurl me down to Death, against my fate. And fate? No one alive has ever escaped it, neither brave man nor coward, I tell you - it’s born with us the day that we are born.” (Book 6, Iliad) This shows how they thought fate was imminent and that inescapable. No matter what, it was going to happen. I believe that this is because they were more religious and believed in God(s) which led them to believe that they didn't have a choice in what they did and it was up to a higher power. Now, some people don't believe in God at all, so they couldn't believe in fate since it is decided by God. Usually, if people believe in fate, they view it in a more romantic light in the present. They think of it as soulmates and 'one true love'. This could also be because back then, there was more fighting and wars, everyone was more serious. Now, we are calmer. Yes, there is always someone fighting someone else, but it wasn't like before. Back then, people were fighting to conquer the world and gain territory which is a problem we don't majorly face today.
So, does fate control our lives? The answer isn't as simple as yes or no, many people have different opinions and I bet you disagreed with me at points, too. It's controversial, but that's because of everyone's different points of views and comparing at different times in history. Even though I don't believe in fate, I can still say that if it was real, it would control our lives because fate is inevitable and unchangeable. The definition of fate is the development of events outside a person's control which proves that, but not the idea of fate as a whole.