According to The Odyssey how significant is the role that the gods play in the fate of the mortals? How much of a role do we play? Can a god change a human's destiny and vice versa?.
.
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.".
( pg 78, lines 37-40).
He is saying that we, ourselves, create our own problems and we, in turn, should be able to find a solution to them. Basically he admits that the fate of the mortals is out of his control. By saying that we are shamelessly blaming the Gods, one can induce that Zeus is attempting to say that we are blaming the wrong people. This quotation points out that since humans can create their own miseries, they have a large hand in their own fate.
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:.
"Now Zeus commands you to send him off with all good speed:.
it is not his fate to die here, far from his own people.
Destiny still ordains that he shall see his loved ones'.
