The Odyssey: The Three Forces of Fortune Odysseus’ travel from the war torn ruins of Troy to his suitor-filled home in Ithaca contains much excitement, danger, and majesty. Homer’s hero, Odysseus, has many adventures in his journey home ranging from battling the Cicones, to tricking a Cyclops, to being imprisoned by a sea-nymph for seven years. He is constantly moving from the known world to the mythical world which makes his journey even more dangerous. He goes through extreme hardship in the sole hope of returning home to see his son, Telemachus, and wife, Penelope, again. However, many questions about the story remain, namely how Odysseus survived his journey and what helped him survive. Some believe Odysseus acted on his own free will
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Free will is the weakest force out of the three forces. Humans, in the Odyssey, have less free will than they believe. More often than not, their actions are governed by fate or divine intervention. For example, it was Odysseus’ fate to kill the suitors because Athena said it would have to happen and willed it. Odysseus had to figure out how to perform the action of killing the suitors but it was his fate to do so. Another example on how fate is covered actions are dictated by Pallas Athena. Although it may seem as though everything in the Odyssey is governed by fate and divine intervention, this is not entirely true. Fate only says what will happen, not how it will happen. When Athena tells Odysseus he must kill all the suitors, it was up to Odysseus to figure out how. It was going to happen because it was fated to, but how it would happen was up to Odysseus. Odysseus, in this example, decides to have Telemachus lock all the suitor’s weaponry in a room and then the slaughter ensues. The wise and crafty Odysseus decided to do this on his own with no instructions from the gods. Another way free will can take place is when the actions of the humans does not affect their fate.”The wind drove me out of Ilium on to Ismarus, the Cicones’ stronghold. There I sacked the city, killed the men, but as for the wives and plunder, that rich haul we dragged away from the place.” (9.44-47) Odysseus sacks the Cicones immediately after leaving …show more content…
He starts out a veteran of a ten-year war and ends a broken man getting revenge on suitors. His journey is eventful to say the least. However, the question about how he survived his ordeal goes beyond his hardships. While many interpretations of the Odyssey’s three forces exist; however, the story and events of the Odyssey are governed all the forces in some perfect harmony. The three forces coexist in perfect fluidity, they are all present. Although the forces coexist, they vary in magnitude. Fate governs all and is the strongest force while divine intervention can delay fate but never stop it all. Free will is present but weak and nearly, but not quite, without effect. These three forces make Odysseus the great hero he his, and the Odyssey the epic poem it is and always will
Free will is the weakest force out of the three forces. Humans, in the Odyssey, have less free will than they believe. More often than not, their actions are governed by fate or divine intervention. For example, it was Odysseus’ fate to kill the suitors because Athena said it would have to happen and willed it. Odysseus had to figure out how to perform the action of killing the suitors but it was his fate to do so. Another example on how fate is covered actions are dictated by Pallas Athena. Although it may seem as though everything in the Odyssey is governed by fate and divine intervention, this is not entirely true. Fate only says what will happen, not how it will happen. When Athena tells Odysseus he must kill all the suitors, it was up to Odysseus to figure out how. It was going to happen because it was fated to, but how it would happen was up to Odysseus. Odysseus, in this example, decides to have Telemachus lock all the suitor’s weaponry in a room and then the slaughter ensues. The wise and crafty Odysseus decided to do this on his own with no instructions from the gods. Another way free will can take place is when the actions of the humans does not affect their fate.”The wind drove me out of Ilium on to Ismarus, the Cicones’ stronghold. There I sacked the city, killed the men, but as for the wives and plunder, that rich haul we dragged away from the place.” (9.44-47) Odysseus sacks the Cicones immediately after leaving …show more content…
He starts out a veteran of a ten-year war and ends a broken man getting revenge on suitors. His journey is eventful to say the least. However, the question about how he survived his ordeal goes beyond his hardships. While many interpretations of the Odyssey’s three forces exist; however, the story and events of the Odyssey are governed all the forces in some perfect harmony. The three forces coexist in perfect fluidity, they are all present. Although the forces coexist, they vary in magnitude. Fate governs all and is the strongest force while divine intervention can delay fate but never stop it all. Free will is present but weak and nearly, but not quite, without effect. These three forces make Odysseus the great hero he his, and the Odyssey the epic poem it is and always will