Fate In The Iliad
In Homer’s epic The Iliad, Homer tells of Achilles, a prideful warrior, and his forays in a long and gruelling war between the Trojans and Greeks. In the epic, mortals and gods contend for victory, exercising free will and battling fate. Soldiers, demigods, and even the gods themselves view fate as inevitable or dangerous to modify.
The soldiers in the war view fate as unavoidable destiny. When Hector makes the final stab and kills Patroclus, Patroclus prophesies, “This day / your death stands near, and your immutable end / at Print Akhilleus’s hands” (Homer XVI, 979-981) as he lies dying on the battlefield. Patroclus foresees Hector’s death by Achilles, warning him of this certain demise. This prophecy not only foreshadows Hector’s death but also …show more content…
demonstrates a mortal’s faith in fate. Although Patroclus himself dies, he recognises Hector’s death as inevitable and one that Hector cannot change. In addition, the Greek soldiers trust in destiny through the words of their seers. When Calchas interprets a dream as foreshadowing the Greeks’ victory in the tenth year of war, Odysseus asserts,
“That was his explanation of the sign.
Oh, see now, how it all comes true! Hold out,
Akhaians with your gear of war, campaigners, hold on the beachhead till we take the town!” (II, 386-389).
Odysseus reminds the soldiers of Calchas’s prophesy, encouraging them to hold out for their immient victory.
This speech puts faith into the men’s hearts, because they trust in Calchas and his interpretation, believing their fate a victorious one. Even if the situation at hand seems unfavorable, mortals put faith into fate to come through for them. Demigods in the epic accept the fact that they can not change fate. When Helen stands on the Trojan city walls watching the duel between Menelaos and Paris, she tells Priam,
“Painful death would have been sweeter for me, on that day
I joined your son, and left my bridal chamber, my brothers, my grown child, my childhood friends!
But no death came, though I have pined and wept” (Homer III, 205-209).
Helen describes her emotions towards her marriage to Paris. She resigns to her fate, acknowledging her inability to change it. Knowing she cannot change this destiny, even as a demigod, she resigns to mourning over her past life. On the Greeks’ side, Akhilleus decides on his fate immediately and firmly upon receiving news of Patroklos’s death. Akhilleus, flying into a rage, says,
“May it come quickly.
As things were, I could not help my friend in his
extremity.
Far from his home he died; he needed me to shield him or to parry the death stroke.
For me there’s no return to my own country” (Homer XVIII, 112-116).
Akhilleus chooses to return to war and avenge Patroklos, but die. Given the choice by his mother Thetis, he knows the consequences and seals his fate. He does not try to bargain with the gods, rather accepting his death.
The gods also believe in fate’s immutable course, despite their power to change it. When Thetis, Akhilleus’s mother, comes to visit Akhilleus after Patroklos’s death and learns of Akhilleus’s plan to kill Hektor, she warns, “You’ll be swift to meet your end, child, as you say: / your doom comes close on the heels of Hektor’s own” (XVIII, 107-109). Thetis knows that if Akhilleus goes up against and kills Hektor, his own death will come soon after. Although tearful and devastated, Thetis accepts Akhilleus’s fate and does not try to pursuade him otherwise any further. Even the most powerful of the gods knows not to blatantly clash with fate, even though he has the option to. As Sarpedon battles Patroclus, Zeus wonders,
“shall I catch Sarpedon out of the mortal fight with all its woe and put him down in Lykia, in that rich land? Or shall I make him fall beneath Patroklos’s hard-thrown spear?” (XVI, 507-511).
Zeus sees two possible outcomes for his son and wonders whether to whisk his son away from death, or to let his son fulfill his fate and die on the battlefield. Zeus views Sarpedon’s fate not as set in stone, but something he can decide upon, however, with Hera’s help, Zeus chooses to let Sarpedon die in accordance with his fate. Mortals and demigods view fate as destiny they must accept and gods as dangerous to influence. Homer teachers an important lesson about changing and accepting destiny, and the wisdom to know when to do either.
The soldiers in the war view fate as unavoidable destiny. When Hector makes the final stab and kills Patroclus, Patroclus prophesies, “This day / your death stands near, and your immutable end / at Print Akhilleus’s hands” (Homer XVI, 979-981) as he lies dying on the battlefield. Patroclus foresees Hector’s death by Achilles, warning him of this certain demise. This prophecy not only foreshadows Hector’s death but also …show more content…
demonstrates a mortal’s faith in fate. Although Patroclus himself dies, he recognises Hector’s death as inevitable and one that Hector cannot change. In addition, the Greek soldiers trust in destiny through the words of their seers. When Calchas interprets a dream as foreshadowing the Greeks’ victory in the tenth year of war, Odysseus asserts,
“That was his explanation of the sign.
Oh, see now, how it all comes true! Hold out,
Akhaians with your gear of war, campaigners, hold on the beachhead till we take the town!” (II, 386-389).
Odysseus reminds the soldiers of Calchas’s prophesy, encouraging them to hold out for their immient victory.
This speech puts faith into the men’s hearts, because they trust in Calchas and his interpretation, believing their fate a victorious one. Even if the situation at hand seems unfavorable, mortals put faith into fate to come through for them. Demigods in the epic accept the fact that they can not change fate. When Helen stands on the Trojan city walls watching the duel between Menelaos and Paris, she tells Priam,
“Painful death would have been sweeter for me, on that day
I joined your son, and left my bridal chamber, my brothers, my grown child, my childhood friends!
But no death came, though I have pined and wept” (Homer III, 205-209).
Helen describes her emotions towards her marriage to Paris. She resigns to her fate, acknowledging her inability to change it. Knowing she cannot change this destiny, even as a demigod, she resigns to mourning over her past life. On the Greeks’ side, Akhilleus decides on his fate immediately and firmly upon receiving news of Patroklos’s death. Akhilleus, flying into a rage, says,
“May it come quickly.
As things were, I could not help my friend in his
extremity.
Far from his home he died; he needed me to shield him or to parry the death stroke.
For me there’s no return to my own country” (Homer XVIII, 112-116).
Akhilleus chooses to return to war and avenge Patroklos, but die. Given the choice by his mother Thetis, he knows the consequences and seals his fate. He does not try to bargain with the gods, rather accepting his death.
The gods also believe in fate’s immutable course, despite their power to change it. When Thetis, Akhilleus’s mother, comes to visit Akhilleus after Patroklos’s death and learns of Akhilleus’s plan to kill Hektor, she warns, “You’ll be swift to meet your end, child, as you say: / your doom comes close on the heels of Hektor’s own” (XVIII, 107-109). Thetis knows that if Akhilleus goes up against and kills Hektor, his own death will come soon after. Although tearful and devastated, Thetis accepts Akhilleus’s fate and does not try to pursuade him otherwise any further. Even the most powerful of the gods knows not to blatantly clash with fate, even though he has the option to. As Sarpedon battles Patroclus, Zeus wonders,
“shall I catch Sarpedon out of the mortal fight with all its woe and put him down in Lykia, in that rich land? Or shall I make him fall beneath Patroklos’s hard-thrown spear?” (XVI, 507-511).
Zeus sees two possible outcomes for his son and wonders whether to whisk his son away from death, or to let his son fulfill his fate and die on the battlefield. Zeus views Sarpedon’s fate not as set in stone, but something he can decide upon, however, with Hera’s help, Zeus chooses to let Sarpedon die in accordance with his fate. Mortals and demigods view fate as destiny they must accept and gods as dangerous to influence. Homer teachers an important lesson about changing and accepting destiny, and the wisdom to know when to do either.