Fate in Homer's Iliad 1

Fate in Homer's Iliad

Fate in Homer's Iliad 2

Abstract

In Iliad, the fate is the result of unknown sources, being predicted by the fates since the
beginnings of life. It can not be changed and avoiding it is a shameful act. The fate
follows the characters everywhere, justifying their actions and being accepted as part of
life. Blind and full of meaning in the same time, the fate is perceive in Iliad either as the
will of Zeus, either as a force from the outside.
Fate in Homer's Iliad 3

Fate in Homer's Iliad

Talking about fate as about the only force that determines the human actions means to
refer to a term that vexes and limits the human condition. The fate is given by the
reaction of gods, but it is placed above people and gods.

The gods participate to the human existence to help or to oppress them. The success
doesn't depend on the individual value, but on the support provided by Immortals,
without any justification. Zeus is presented as the incarnation of a supreme force, but
with an arbitrary will, whose manifestations can't be predicted or avoided. The good and
bad are related to criteria that have nothing to do with virtue or justice.

The two Homeric poems Iliad and Odyssey are perfect mirrors of the Greek culture. For
centuries they have fed the Greek spirit and remained models imitated by the art works
and the everyday ones. Ulysses and Achilles, who dominate throw their extraordinary
personality, are models of the Greek hero, Ulysses being presented as an Apollonian hero
and Achilles as a Dionysian hero.

The fate is present in Iliad as an answer to the existence and role of man, being
responsible for his actions and decisions. It also determines the life of Gods, although
they don't have a destiny and they can not be judged for the consequences of their acts, as
they are immortals.

"But once they reached the springs for the fourth time,

Then Father Zeus held out his sacred golden scales:

In them he placed two fates of death that lays men low -

One for Achilles, one for Hector breaker of horses -

And gripping the beam mid-haft the Father raised it high

And down went Hector’s day of doom, dragging him down

To the strong House of Death.”

(Homer. The Iliad. Richmond Lattimore, translator. Chicago: University of Chicago Press
(1951) 22. 248-54)

The Homeric epics are inspired by a series of mythical and historical events, known all
around the world. Iliad narrates.
Fate in Homer's Iliad 4

In the Book 1, Thetis, the mother of Achilles, tells him: "Doomed to a short life, you have
so little time. / and not only short, now, but filled with heartbreak too, / more than all
other men alive - doomed twice over” (Homer. The Iliad. Richmond Lattimore,
translator. Chicago: University of Chicago Press (1951), 1. 496-98).

The Trojan War was a military conflict from antiquity, between the city of Troy and
Achaeans. According to Greek mythology, the war started because Paris, the prince of
Troy kidnapped Elena, Menelaus' wife, the king of Sparta. This conflict is one of the
most important events in the cycle of Greek myths, including the great Antique epic
poems, Iliad and Odyssey, both written by Homer.

The sky and the Earth are united by Zeus throw rain (Zeus ombrios, hyetios, ikma, ios),
wind (Zeus urios, euanemos), thunder (Zeus astrapaios, bronton, keraunos), signs and
oracles that transmit to the immortals from Erath the messages sent by the heavenly gods.
The immortality, which is a precise boundary between humans and gods, in the eyes of
Greeks, it represents an essential feature of Divine.

In Homeric epics, especially in the Iliad, it is presented a merge between the world of
gods and the world of humans. Each divinity acquired its own physiognomy,
characterized by specific attributes. The relations between gods and humans, as they have
been presented by Homer, raise numerous issues regarding the influence of Gods on the
life on Earth, even on the psychology of heroes.

Homer hates the war but recognizes its power. Achilles does not come out in the
battlefield until Patroclus, his most beloved friend, was killed. In that moment of blind
rage, Achilles has fulfilled fault, refusing Hector to pass throw the usual rituals, to reach
on the land of Hades. In fact, from the beginning to the end, it can be noticed the power
of fate. Paris kidnaps Elena, all the Trojans are affected by his act, but none of them try to
send her back to Menelaus and all approve the beginning of the war.

"Sing, goddess, the rage of Achilles the son of Peleus,

The destructive rage that sent countless ills on the Achaeans..." (Iliad, Book 1)

Being presumptuous, Agamemnon insists to take Briseis, a slave taken from the temple
of Apollo, despite the heavy words and threats of Achilles. Regarding Achilles, it was not
about fault, but about a prediction, as he was meant to choose: either he wouldn't have
known the greatness of conquering such a fortress and his name wouldn't have survived
in time, either he wouldn't gone to Troy and would have died of natural death.

Achilles, obviously refused the anonymity and died, but not before struggling with the
god of a river, who was mad because of the various crimes committed by the hero in its
waters. He managed to escape from this challenge, as he was helped by gods.

The fate is also present in Athena's words, when she addresses to Achilles:
Fate in Homer's Iliad 5

Yes! We will save your life - this time too -

Master, mighty Achilles! But the day of death

Already hovers near, and we are not to blame

But a great god is and the strong force of fate. (19 . 483-86)

The men's destiny is responsible for his death, and not the other men.

"The son of a great man, the mother who gave me life a deathless goddess.

But even for me, I tell you, death and the strong force of fate are waiting.

There will come a dawn or sunset or high noon when a man will take my life in battle too

- flinging a spear perhaps or whipping a deadly arrow off his bow. “

(Homer. The Iliad. Richmond Lattimore, translator. Chicago: University of Chicago Press
(1951) , 21. 122-28)", said Achilles when he referred to his own fate.

It is not about a clear hierarchy of the cosmic powers, as the Gods and fate are often
perceived by the characters as being the same. A personified Fate or Fury answers to
unclear questions about the human nature and inexplicable events.

Iliad has a consistent subject, based on Achilles wrath. In the center of conflict, shines the
absolute hero, the ruthless winner, violent and courageous, but also the sacrificed hero,
who will spread death around him. The name of Achilles is uttered by all soldiers, and
Peleus, the father of Achilles, is desired and regretted by all. Achilles wanted to die in the
war, but by an irony, he is killed by one of the most sympathetic of the heroes of Homer,
a war novice- Paris, the shame and curse of Trojans.

"For my mother Thetis the goddess of silver feet tells me

I carry two sorts of destiny toward the day of my death.

Either,

If I stay here and fight beside the city of the Trojans,

My return home is gone, but my glory shall be

Everlasting;

But if I return home to the beloved land of my fathers,

Fate in Homer's Iliad 6

The excellence of my glory is gone, but there will be a

Long life

Left for me, and my end in death will not come to me

Quickly."

(Homer. The Iliad. Richmond Lattimore, translator. Chicago: University of Chicago Press
(1951)

In the bloody war that takes place, Homer emphasizes the sauciness of the fighters,
associated with the idea of honor. They are all brave in following their destiny. Even
Paris has the spirit of sacrifice, finding the necessary power to go to the war and to face
death. Diomedea, a very well known warrior, hits with his spear two gods: Aphrodite and
Apollo, being pushed from behind by another deity, though.

"So in his house they raised the dirges for the dead,

For Hector still alive, his people were so convinced

That never again would he come home from battle,

Never escape the Argives' rage and bloody hands." (Book 6, Iliad)

The poet places the man in the center of the entire action, as a symbol of recognition of
the supremacy of human because of the pure and noble feelings of the heroes. They are,
above all, complex characters. They have worries, being predestined to mistakes. Even
Elena, too rough described as a "cheeky bitch" proves to be noble and generous in her
feelings.

Iliad is not just the monotonous description of some facts; it is much more than that. It
exposes old rituals, sacrifices, the qualities of the mortals in contrast with the defects of
the Gods, being a fascinating story that presents the ways and strategies of war. It is also
a love story that ruined a world and what is the most important is that Homer describes
mythological characters, although these descriptions are not objective. It is a game where
the Trojans are the white pieces on a chessboard, the Achaeans are the black pieces and
the Gods are the spectators.

All the characters presented by Iliad are under the sign of fate. The destiny proves to be
the ultimate force, being above Gods and human decisions, who accept what was written.
Patroclus tries to avoid his fate and attempts his defeat:

"Majesty, son of Kronos, what sort of thing have you spoken?

Fate in Homer's Iliad 7

Do you wish to bring back a man who is mortal, one long since

Doomed by his destiny, from ill-sounding death and release him?

Do it, then; but not all the rest of us gods shall approve you"

(Homer. The Iliad. Richmond Lattimore, translator. Chicago: University of Chicago Press
(1951). 16.440–3).

In Iliad, the fate is the result of unknown sources, being predicted by the fates since the
beginnings of life. It can not be changed and avoiding it is a shameful act. Achilles' desire
of revenge has been prophesized many times. The Achaeans soothsayers said that in the
year just begun, during the tenth war, walls of Troy will be ruined; the war became more
intense, as Paris and Menelaus were fighting for the beautiful Elena. Paris was hurt. The
fight became even more bloody as the gods were getting involved.

Also, the death of Hector was determined by fate. The gods left the battlefield and the
fight increased in intensity. Hector found out about the wrath of Minerva and asked his
mothers, Hecuba, to go along with all the other women to pray for him to Minerva.
Hector arrived in the palace of his father and died to see his wife, Andromaca. She tried
to convince her husband to remain next to his family, but he returned on the field of
battle, with his brother Paris.

On the battlefield, the winner was chosen by the leaders of the armies; the battle was
between Hector and Ajax. Jupiter stopped their fight and made the Trojan victorious, as
he promised to Achilles. Thus, Agamemnon decided to reconcile with Achilles but
Achilles refused.

The fight started again. The Trojans were getting close to the ships and Hector was
demolishing with a stone of the mill the gate of the wall around them. Neptune helped the
Achaeans, whose only escapes were the ships. Junona helped Neptune to lead the
Achaeans. Hector was wounded, but Jupiter cured him.

“Just as a man constructs a wall for some high house,

Using well-fitted stones to keep out forceful winds,

That’s how close their helmets and bossed shields lined up,

Shield pressing against shield, helmet against helmet

Man against man. On the bright ridges of the helmets,

Horsehair plumes touched when warriors moved their heads.

Fate in Homer's Iliad 8

That's how close they were to one another.”

(Iliad 16.213–7, Ian Johnston, translator)

Achilles returned to the battle along with his friend Patroclus, who was killed, and with
the help of Minerva and Junona, he recovers the body. Achilles' belief was that fate is
responsible slaughter of an innocent man.

"No, deadly destiny, with the son of Leto, has killed me,

And of men it was Euphorbos; you are only my third slayer.

And put away in your heart this other thing that I tell you.

You yourself are not one who shall live long, but now already

Death and powerful destiny are standing beside you,

To go down under the hands of Aiakos’ great son,

Achilles"

(Homer. The Iliad. Richmond Lattimore, translator. Chicago: University of Chicago Press
(1951). 16.849–54.)

“But come; let us ourselves get him away from death, for fear

The son of Kronos may be angered if now Achilles

Kills this man. It is destined that he shall be the

Survivor,

That the generation of Dardanos shall not die. . .”

(Homer. The Iliad. Richmond Lattimore, translator. Chicago: University of Chicago Press
(1951). 20.300–4)

Troy was supported by the amazons leaded by Pentesilea and the brave Memnon, but
they both have been killed by Achaeans.

Achilles was killed by Paris, who stabbed his heel with a poisoned arrow. After a hard
fight, the Achaeans recovered the body of Achilles. Paris was also wounded by an arrow
and run to the fairy Enone, in the mountains. The Grecian victory has been predicted
several times by different characters of the story, including the Greek prophet Kalchas,
Diomedea and Hector.
Fate in Homer's Iliad 9

After the war ended, Deifob, the sun of Priam, married Elena. After ten years, the war
continued, offering sacrifices to the god Mars.

The fate follows the characters everywhere, justifying their actions and being accepted as
part of life. Blind and full of meaning in the same time, the fate is perceive in Iliad either
as the will of Zeus, either as a force from the outside.
Fate in Homer's Iliad 10

References

1. Homer. The Iliad. Richmond Lattimore, translator. Chicago: University of

Chicago Press (1951)
2. Iliad 16.213–7, Ian Johnston, translator
3. Toohey, Peter. Reading Epic: An Introduction to the Ancient Narrative. New
Fetter Lane, London: Routledge, (1992)
4. Mueller, Martin (1984). The Iliad. London: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 0-04-800027-2
5. Fox, Robin Lane (2008). Travelling Heroes: Greeks and their myths in the epic
age of Homer. Allen Lane. ISBN 978-0-713-99980-8.