What Is The Role Of Fate In The Iliad And The Odyssey
The Fates
The Fates are the three mythological deities who determined human life and destiny. The Fates are known as Moirai. (plural of Moira) in Greek and Parcae (plural of Parca) or Fata (plural of Fatum) in Latin. The Fates have been drawn in literature different ways by different authors. The most authentic description of the Fates has been passed out by the attic poets Homer and Hesiod.
Homeric Portraiture
In The Iliad and The Odyssey, Homer relates of Fate (Moira) rather than Fates (Moirai). In his view, the Fate is a single impersonal power which is basically concerned with the cessation of life. Surprisingly, in The lliad, Homer also mentioned the Fate in plural form, albeit only for once. In Homeric description, the Fate acted independently from the gods and Zeus was the sole god who could control it. Zeus used to weigh human fates in his measuring scale, and when someone’s lot weighed down, he died according to the Fate. Moreover, Zeus had the authority to save the would-be victims from their imminent fate. Therefore, in Homeric description, Zeus appears as the guider and the apportioner of destiny. Still from another angle, this impersonal force could be interpreted simply as the will of the gods. In this way, Zeus is somewhat the personification of this abstract power. However, many scholars held that the Homeric portrayal of the Fate is incomplete since it lacked personification, attribution or parentage.
Hesiodic Portraiture
With a sharp contrast to Homer,
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