Fate and the Gods

It’s not entirely clear how we are to understand fate as it is figured in the Homeric mythos, particular regarding the relationship between fate and the gods. There are several alternatives to consider: perhaps “fate” is simply shorthand for the will of Zeus and the other Olympians. Alternatively, fate might be a personified deity in its own right, or some primordial force that possesses equal sovereignty over the actions of both mortals and immortals. The Iliad seems to suggest different answers at different times, but Zeus’ conversation with Hera concerning the fate of Sarpedon gives us something relatively concrete and specific to serve as an interpretive foundation.

Zeus says “Fate has it that Sarpedon… / … is to be killed by Patroclus. / Shall I take him out of battle while he still lives… /…Or shall I let him die under Patroclus’ hands?” (16.471-5). The fact that he can even ask such a question tells us two things. One, fate is something external to the will of the gods. Two, the gods have (or at least believe they have) the power to counteract fate. This capacity of the gods to supersede fate is reaffirmed in Hera’s answer: “Do it. But don’t expect all of us to approve” (16.480-81). Note that she doesn’t argue against Zeus’ proposal on the grounds that what he suggests is impossible, but rather that doing so would open the door for the other gods to follow his lead in disrupting the proper course of fate. Thus, this passage establishes for us that in Homer’s world fate is a force that lies outside the will of the gods but is nonetheless respected by them – not out of necessity, but out of convention.