Fate: You Can't Escape It

I’m getting the feeling that Fate was important to ancient cultures.

We talked about it in our Norse conclusion. We’ve talked about both the Norse and the Greek Fates - three women who personified and ruled over the concept of Fate.

There are references to Fate everywhere you look in Greek mythology. Many Greek heroes are exposed to the elements as children and left to die - but they inevitably survive and go on to fulfill their destiny.

Prophecies in the Greek myths cannot be circumvented - what is foretold must come to pass. There’s a Greek play called Oedipus the King, in which Oedipus receives a prophecy that he will kill his father and sleep with his mother. Oedipus leaves his home to avoid this fate, not realizing that the people who raised him are not his birth parents - who he later unknowingly finds. His life unfolds just as the prophecy said it would, despite his efforts to stop it.

In my post about Zeus I talked a little bit about Danae. Her father, Acrisius, locks Danae up to prevent a prophecy that said her son would kill him. Despite all his precautions, Danae still gets impregnated by Zeus, and her son, Perseus, slays Acrisius.

These are only a few of the examples of Fate in the lives of mortals. However, just as in Norse mythology, Fate is not reserved for only humans. It also affects the gods.

Perhaps the most striking example of this can be found in the Iliad. The Greek pantheon favored heroes on both sides of the Trojan War, and occasionally intervened on their behalf. However, Homer also shows the gods watching a pivotal moment in the war - and doing nothing, despite their desire to act.

This moment is when Hector, champion of Troy, is abou to be slain by Achilles, hero of the Greeks. Zeus, knowing that Hector is fated to die, asks the gods to vote on whether or not they should save him - and is rebuked by Athena. The goddess of wisdom asks if Zeus is really considering saving a man whose Fate was decided long ago. She then says that Zeus could act if he really wants to, but that the other gods will not be a part of it.

Zeus immediately backpedals and says that he wasn’t actually thinking of defying fate...really!

I think what intrigues me the most about this is the fact that Athena stats that Zeus could act - implying that the gods can act against Fate. However, her refusal to be a part of it also seems to indicate that there would be consequences for challenging that which is meant to be.

All of these examples seem to show that the ancient Greeks believed in Fate, and that it played a major role in their lives. But what was that role? Was it a way of comforting them about their station in life? If one was a shepherd, that person was obviously fated to be a shepherd, so it was alright!

Or was it a control mechanism for the authorities? They were fated to rule, and you were fated to be a poor servant, and there was nothing you could do about it.

As with my post about the Norse view of Fate, I have no idea...but I would love to hear your thoughts! Please comment below or email me.

I hope you all have a fantastic Christmas! On Friday I’ll be doing a special post for the holidays. Then, next Monday I’ll be posting a short modern adaptation of the Iliad. That will let us start the New Year with a new mythology - Japanese!

Stay tuned, and I’ll see you guys next post!