The Duality Of Human Will In Homer's Odyssey

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In book one of The Odyssey, a story concerning Agamemnon is introduced with the assistance of Zeus. Agamemnon is a man who led the Greek armies during the Trojan War. While the leader had been away for approximately a decade, his wife named Clytemnestra finds herself a new lover that takes the name Aegisthus. When Agamemnon returns from war, he finds himself in a bloody situation involving Clytemnestra, her lover and the bathtub. Orestes, Agamemnon’s son, vows that he will seek revenge against his mother and her lover—he completes his mission when he comes of age to obtain his inheritance. This particular story is substantial to the response because all four of these human beings have their own decisions to make. There is no god stating Agamemnon should go away for a decade in order to battle other soldiers; there is also no god demanding that Clytemnestra and her lover, Aegisthus, should kill Agamemnon. No god tells Orestes that his destiny entitles him to kill off his own mother and her lover, though the gods do not disagree with his actions. All of these choices are made by the human beings themselves—Clytemnestra wants to be with Aegisthus and Clytemnestra wants to kill her husband. Essentially, there is room for human will, though the gods do enjoy chiming in when necessary.…show more content…
They are always blaming the Gods for their troubles, when there own witlessness causes them more than they were destined for!” Zeus speaks the truth in his rampage, as Aegisthus is not destined to die at such a young age. The gods try their very best to lead the brainwashed man away from the path he is heading down, but alas, not even Hermes the messenger god, has the ability to change his mind. Hermes goes so far as to describe every event, in detail, that will occur if Aegisthus goes through with the murder, but as unfortunate as it is, Aegisthus ignores all warnings and does as he

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