Fate In The Iliad

What would convince you to let your child die? Money? Fame? Power? Zeus has all of these, and more. Yet, in book 16 of the Iliad, when faced with the choice to save his son or watch him meet his painful, violent fate in battle, he chooses the latter (16.545). Hera successfully convinces Zeus, the most powerful Greek god, to watch passively as his beloved son is slain. Zeus does nothing to help Sarpedon though he easily could have rushed him out of harm’s way. Why does he choose this? Was it because Sarpedon was fated to die? Initially, it may seem like Zeus defers to fate, but a closer reading suggests otherwise. The passage makes it clear that fate is an illusion and has no real power over the gods.

The text begins to reveal the

Although Zeus refers to his own “cruel fate,” it clearly doesn’t control him (16.514). His “heart is torn in two,” as he weighs whether he will defy fate and save “the man [he] love[s] the most” or “beat him down at Patroclus’ hands,” (16.515, 521). If fate were a power above the gods, Zeus would not have this choice to save his son: the man “doomed to die” (16.516). Additionally, Hera, rather than trusting fate, is concerned. She shows this when she “protested strongly,” with “her eyes wide,” Zeus’ suggestion that he might save Sarpedon (16.522). If fate is as powerful as the gods pretend it is, she could trust it to ensure Sarpedon’s death. Instead, she realizes the implications of Zeus’ choice and protests. Hera does not dispute the fact that what happens to Sarpedon is up to Zeus, but rather reinforces it, saying “do as you please, Zeus…” (16.526). Hera reveals her real opinion of fate with this comment. If she thought fate had any power, she would not acknowledge that the decision was

Both cite fate in their dialogue, but neither gives it much credit. Hera does not warn Zeus of the dangers of fighting against fate, but instead puts her trust in power and logic. Zeus makes his decision only after Hera points out the reasons why saving Patroclus would be detrimental to his status, not when she reminds him that Sarpedon is fated to die. The passage reveals fate is to be nothing but a penciled-in plan—one that the gods can defy at their whim. This has profound implications for the rest of the text. Mortal men in the Iliad frequently struggle with their fate, but never challenge it. They see fate as an immovable object, something that can be resisted but never defied outright. If fate is as empty as the text suggests, these men are blindly following the gods’ fickle desires when they could be controlling their own lives. They follow fate to war and to their deaths. Without this illusion leading them, how would the story change? Would there be one? Only the gods