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…
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
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…
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