Fate is a concept that has ruled many civilizations. The belief in destiny and the higher powers are what drive the human race to their full potential. In the epic The Odyssey, they bend their lives to the rule of fate. We are shown both examples of how the humans regard the gods, and how the gods regard the humans. It is apparent, however, that these two views contradict eachother. Men appear to put all their burdens upon the gods, while the gods beleive that these humans can control their own fate.

Zeus cannot understand why the mortals blame all of their sorrows on the Gods. He points out that while the gods are supposed to accept resonsibility for the mortals problems, they are rarely thanked for a positive situation:

"Ah how shameless-the way these mortals blame the gods.

From us alone, they say, come all their miseries, yes,

but they themselves, with their own reckless ways,

compound their pains beyond their proper share."

He is saying that we, ourselves, create our own problems and we, in tur

In another similar passage Zeus is commanding Calypso to release Odysseus. He describes to her that destiny must control all aspects of a human's life:

reach his high-roofed house, his native land at last."

I believe that through the epic story of the Odyssey, it is clear that men do have a significant role in their fate. It is them and not the Gods who can alter such things. There appears to be a chosen fate for each man when he is born, but only the man can fufill it, whether the Gods chose to help or not. Destiny will enevitable take the individual to where they where meant to be despite the Gods' interference. The Gods, in turn, do not hold as much power as the mortals in the story believe. They thank the Gods for their fortunes, and blame them for their sorrows. While Zeus clearly states that it is we, ourselves who create such situations for ourselves, and they do not control every aspect of our lives. The role the Gods play is simply to watch over these fates, and ensure they are reached. They provide encouragement to people, such as Odysseus, to enable them to reach their potential. The Gods play some part in our existence, but in reality we are the ones who control our own fates.

This is another quote that leads one to believe that the Gods have the utmost control in our lives, deciding when death will play an an intergral part and when it will not. Again, though, this is a mortal speaking, Odysseus. Which is furthur proof that it is simply our version of the Gods which is distorted. "That is the gods' work, spinning threads of death through the lives of mortal men," (pg 210, lines 649-650). They never claim to control all, but to simply be omniprescent. The Gods do not

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