Fate Vs Free Will Odyssey

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In the myths of Ancient Greek Mythology there has been a debate pertaining the conflict between fate and free will. At the heart of every myth great tragedy lies the universal struggle between the human inclination to accept fate absolutely and the natural desire to control one's own destiny. Did ancient Greek heros have fate, or was it all destiny pre-determined the Gods? One story that shines above the rest is that of Oedipus and or the Odysseus. With Oedipus he has all odds against him, including his father yet ironically in the end all the steps to ensure Oedipus death fail and then ironically these failed steps bind him to his destiny. While on the other hand the Odyssey; a mix of different communities of human beings and gods. Here human beings are not essentially free, the divine beings “gods” mostly determine everything that will happen to humans even if the gods’ decision conflict or cause difficulties in a human being's life. This mysterious, unexplainable twinning between will and fate is visible in the story of Oedipus and can be easily compared and aided by the story of the Odyssey. In the world of Greek Mythology fate does not just happen. The gods portrayed in Greek mythology engineer the fate of the human…show more content…
Oedipus is portrayed to be totally controlled by fate. During the story of Oedipus the Oracle spills out her prophecies. Oedipus, will one day kill his father;Thebes the king. No matter what Thebes does he cannot avoid the terrible fate in store for him. The steps taken by Thebes actually ensure his foretold future. Each character through this story makes precise choices which are portrayed as their own free will. So, should we view fate as a higher power controlling our actions, or as a chain reaction of our personal decisions and the decisions of the gods. Is it the king's acts of free will that ironically cemented him to his block of
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