Jesse Monday
Dr. Key
Comp 2
9 May 2014
Title
Looking at Greek Mythology we tend to encounter the gods of that time. Sometimes they work in the background of the human part of the story, but in epics like The Odyssey the gods play a very large if not central role in the main developments of the story.
The term Fate has a place in the world of ancient Greece but it is very different from other parts of the world. I have learned it is important to understand the context before discussing the situation. Most people think fate happens for reasons unknown and no one has any control over what happens. However, the ancient Greeks did not believe that fate is a random occurrence. They believed that the gods created fate and would constantly intervene to force things to happen that would not have happened. Since the characters tend to not know of the gods’ interfering, occurrences seem to be fate but are really planned by the gods.
The presence of free will, on the other hand, was not a manufactured thing. It was the idea of having complete control over one’s own actions and decisions. They believed the gods made up the way to go, but you as a person always had the choice to follow it. So we see that free will and fate can occur at the same time and do so through the entirety of The Odyssey. The Odyssey often demonstrates that your life is your own responsibility. Instead of leaving everything up to fate, the characters had an important effect upon their own lives.
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...
... middle of paper ...
...b. 08 May 2014. .
Solomon, Robert C. "On Fate and Fatalism." Philosophy East and West 53.4 (2003): 435-54. JSTOR. Web. 08 May 2014. .
Strong, C. A. "Fate and Free Will." The Journal of Philosophy Psychology and Scientific Methods.Vol. 15, No. 1 (1918): 5-9. JSTOR. Web. 08 May 2014. .
Tolkien, J. R. R., and Carl F. Hostetter. "Fate And Free Will." Tolkien Studies: An Annual Scholarly Review 6.(2009): 183-188. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 8 May 2014.
Wilson, Joe. "Homer And The Will Of Zeus." College Literature 34.2 (2007): 150-173. Academic Search Complete. Web. 8 May 2014.
Fate and free will, two subjects that go hand in hand in the Odyssey. The Odyssey is filled with examples of both fate and free will. I believe the gods of the Odyssey interfere with the lives of humans, but don’t control their lives completely. I also believe that humans in the Odyssey have some control over their lives, but do they?
In the ancient world, the gods of the Greeks had been predominately confined to cosmological deeds prior to the works of Homer. "As Hesiod laid out the roles of the gods in his Theogony and the Works and Days, it is apparent that though the gods were active in the creation of the cosmos, natural phenomenon, and cyclical events such as seasons, they were not however, functioning in any historical way"(Bloom 36). This strictly cosmological view of the gods was in no way unusual to the ancient world. Though the breech of theology into historical events was perhaps first introduced by the Hebrews at the turn of the first millennia B.C.E., it was soon echoed in the religious paradigms of homo religiosus throughout the Near East and Europe. In the seventh and sixth centuries B.C.E. another predominate thought swept the ancient world; life is suffering. An obvious question arises from the mixture of these two thoughts; if the gods are functioning in the historical reality of mankind why do they allow and/or cause suffering? This is the dilemma that Homer sets out to solve in the epic poem The Odyssey.
The overarching theme of The Odyssey is the belief that man cannot escape the destiny which has been preordained for him by the gods. Destiny plays a vital role in the survival of Odysseus throughout his adventures. As Odysseus languishes on the island of Calypso, Hermes commands her to free Odysseus in order for the will of Zeus to be carried out, "This is the man whom Zeus now bids you send away, and quickly too, for it is not ordained that he shall perish far from friends; it is his lot to see his friends once more and reach his high roofed house and native land" (47). It is evident that Zeus does not want his predetermined plans for Odysseus to be altered by any being, mortal or god, and will not allow anything to stand in the way of the destiny he has set out for Odysseus.
Fate is an old debated concept. Do one's actions truly play a role in determining one's life? Is fate freedom to some or is it binding to others, in that no individual can make completely individual decisions, and therefore, no one is truly free. Nowadays, fate is a subject often rejected in society, as it is seen as too big, too idealistic, and too hard to wrap a persons head around. However, at the time of Antigone, the concept was a terrifying reality for most people. Fate is the will of the gods, and as is apparent in Antigone, the gods' will is not to be questioned. Much of Sophocles' work focuses on the struggle between human law and what is believed to be the god’s law. Fate was an unstoppable force and it was assumed that any efforts to change one's future were unrealistic. In Sophocles' Antigone, fate plays a crucial role the choices that the characters make.
As the movie goes on we learn that these unsuspected souls were never supposed to evade death, as death approaches them one by one, until fate successfully completes its cycle. This essay explores many theories regarding free will and determinism. Philosophers beg the question, whether choices can be made in our lives, or whether every move we make and do, are destined to happen. This essay will analyse hard determinism, s...
The ancient Greeks were fond believers of Fate. Fate, defined according to Webster’s, is “the principle or determining cause or will by which things in general are believed to come to be as they are or events to happen as the do.” The Greeks take on Fate was slightly modified. They believed that the gods determined Fate: “…fate, to which in a mysterious way the gods themselves were subject, was an impersonal force decreeing ultimate things only, and unconcerned with day by day affairs.” It was thought that these gods worked in subtle ways; this accounts for character flaws (called harmatia in Greek). Ancient Greeks thought the gods would alter a person’s character, in order for that person to suffer (or gain from) the appropriate outcome. Such was the case in Oedipus’s story.
Although, the higher powers were spiteful, unstable, and brought destruction to the hero. Their negative attributes force them to make freewill decisions that will guide them toward becoming hospitable leaders. Only when unsatisfied did the Gods intervene. They used rage, passion, and concern to manipulate situations that will guide the hero back toward their set forth purpose. Odysseus was subject to many chaotic situation that were out of his control. The Gods used these situation to guide Odysseus to take responsible for his own fate. Due to his inability to display control and proper judgment he experienced many setbacks. A negative reaction from his current action. The Gods had to humanize Odysseus by showing him that strength and reasoning were powerless against their wrath. They were not acting out of anger, yet out of provoking behaviors. Odysseus invoked strong feelings among the Gods, he was subject to goodness; which was shown when receiving information on how to escape the Circe, as well as wrath which he received throughout most of the epic tale. As a religious respondent I believe that one’s purpose is predetermined. An individual enters the conscious world with a prearranged purpose, however they have the ability to choose how to fulfill this purpose. So even though Greek Mythology demonstrations higher powers as wrathful and vengeance; I believe that they are only acting in good faith. Gods of all knowing, so it is already predetermine what will happen in a given situation. Like parenting, they allow the mortal to make a mistake in hopes of becoming a better person. Although, the Odyssey does not display a direct resolute as a main character, Homer used a realist approach. Change is not easy we will make mistakes and go through trial and tribulations, but in the end growth will be an outcome. I believe Odysseus
Homer. “The Odyssey”. The Norton Anthology of World Literature. Ed. Martin Puncher. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2012. 475. Print.
Pereboom, Derk. "Why We Have No Will and Can Live Without It." Feinberg, Joel and Russ Shafer-Landau. Reason and Responsibility: Readings in Some Basic Problems of Philosophy. Boston: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning , 2013. 443-455. Print.
The relationship between the gods and humanity in The Epic of Gilgamesh and The Odyssey are the same. In each saga, the gods seem to live nearby and are always present. Both epic poems portray humans as simply at the mercy of the gods. The gods feel that it is their duty to intervene if they feel that man is traveling off course from his destiny. However, the gods are not all powerful.
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.
The idea of fate has existed for a long time and exists even today. Fate revolves around the idea that people's lives are predetermined and that no matter what is done it cannot be changed. With the gods it was used to explain events that seemed strange. Sophocles expands on this idea by introducing Oedipus' fate. The thought of fate is strong considering no matter how hard he struggles he still receives what was predetermined. As a baby he survived the elements on Mount Cithaeron. As Oedipus was destined to live, it shows the dominance of fate. Having fate play such a large part of the play is certainly an insight into the Greek's idea that fate controls us no matter how hard we struggle against it.
Have you ever thought what would be like if the gods get involve in our life? What would be of us if they do? In the story of Homer 's Iliad, we see how the gods gets involve in people life quite often, and what effect it have on the person when they do. In this paper I will be arguing the differences and the similarities of books 3 and 22 from Homer 's Iliad. I will be talking about the issue of human free will vs. the role of gods in our life. In particular, in book 3 we see how our free will can have the gods get involve in our life’s, where in book 22 we see how free will can decide our destiny without any help from the gods.
When discussing the fate of Aeneas, a thought provoking question is posed that is commonly debated. If Aeneas is commanded by fate, does he have free will? It is important to approach this question with a solid understand of fate. There are two common sides to the debate of whether Aeneas had free will or not. One view believes Aeneas had no choice but to follow his destiny because he was commanded by fate, and prophesied to found the race that will one day build Rome. The other side states Aeneas did indeed have free will, and even though his fate was set, room is available within his fate for events to change. One can argue Aeneas makes some of his own choices, but no particular detail of his life is untouched. Destiny determines that the Trojans will found a city in Italy, but it does not stipulate how that will happen. This is where room is left for free will. After much research and considering the views of many commentators and the proof they showed, the answer can simply be found by going back to the text of The Aeneid.
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.