Mortals: Zeus' Toys Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Odysseus escapes unharmed from the island of the Cyclops. He manages to avoid death in front of Scylla and Charybdis. And he brings the witch Circe under his control and saves his companions… Although the Odyssey is an epic celebrated for the heroism of Odysseus, there are many cases of synchronicity that prevent us from attributing the hero's success only to his capacity. And with prophecies and divine interventions occurring everywhere, debate emerges over the relative meaning that fate and free will have in the epic world. However, a close reading of the poem provides us with a new perspective. In the Odyssey, humans possess free will only in the short term, as each outcome of events is governed by the decree of Zeus, which humans consider fate. However, this "destiny" is no destiny at all, for, being subject to the whims of Zeus, it often lacks the crucial quality of having been decreed with strict adherence to time. The epic insinuates that, in the end, mortals are left with neither fate nor free will, but only the free will of Zeus. Although humans in the Odyssey lack free will in the long run, it is undeniable that they have choices about their will and action at any given moment in their lives. This is exemplified by the scene in which the goddess Calypso must give in to Zeus' order and offer Odysseus the chance to leave his island. Seeing Odysseus delighted by the warning, Calypso nevertheless tries to convince her lover to stay: "Son of Laetres and seed of Zeus... you are all still so anxious to return to your home and the land of your fathers... stay here with me" and be lord of this house and be immortal..." (Odyssey 93) Interestingly, even as a goddess, Calypso does not use her power to control Odysseus' actions. She only questions his idea of ​​returning home and offers attractive compensations in hopes of changing his mind. In response to persuasion, Odysseus states that, despite the guaranteed prosperity, he wants so much to gain glory and respect through returning home that he would endure the adventure even if "some god beat him far away on the wine-colored water" (Odyssey 94). Odysseus is clearly independent of a divine power in making his decision, because his reasons are highly personal and it is he alone who decides to fearlessly face danger. Furthermore, the fact that Zeus simply orders Calypso to relinquish his control even though he certainly has the power to move Odysseus off the island further supports the hypothesis that, at least in the short time frame of events, Zeus and minor gods like Kalypso, they seem to allow human choices. However, having free will in the short run does not guarantee free will in the long run. Therefore, we should not be hasty in concluding that humans in the Odyssey are capable of influencing the turn of events in their lives. Unfortunately for the mortals in the epic, although they have choices for almost every action they take part in, they are depicted as being unable to avoid what the gods have in store for them, namely their "destiny". One of the most prominent examples of this in the epic is that Odysseus would demolish the suitors upon his return home, which is conveyed by a series of omens. One of these portents occurs during Menelaus' dinner, when an eagle flies with a goose in its claws. In response, Helena makes the following interpretation: “Listen to me…the way the immortals put it in my heart…so Odysseus…will return home and take revenge; or he's already home and stayingplotting an evil plan for all the suitors. (Odysseus 229-230) The most important part of Helen's speech is that it is the gods - most likely with the consent of Zeus, as always happens - who put the prophecy in her mind, making the eagle's action as if was seen as a divine message that prefigures an inevitable outcome of events. To realize their scenario, the immortals, although not directly controlling humans as they prefer, influence their behaviors so that Odysseus (represented by an eagle) becomes victorious in the finale. This is clearly shown in the scene of the battle between Odysseus and the band of suitors, in which Athena participates: “…the suitors aimed at them with their sharp spears, and threw, but Athena made most of their throws vain so that one man threw his spear into the pillar that supports the strong palace, another into the door…” (Odyssey 328) By intervening, Athena disorientates the enemy, who Odysseus easily kills, thus fulfilling the so-called destiny of both himself and his suitors. It should be noted that up to this point the suitors definitely have free will in every action they take. They sack Odysseus' house, plan to kill Telemachus, and harass Penelope, hoping to maximize their power in the family. Yet Zeus has not been on their side, and so they all face an untimely death at the hands of Odysseus. Now, is it logical to say that humans can exercise free will in the long run even if their actions have no influence in helping them achieve their ultimate goal? However, The Odyssey leads us to wonder whether "destiny" is really a valid term. By most standards, destiny means "that which is inevitably predetermined (for humans)", a definition that in principle prohibits the creator of human destiny, Zeus, from altering it once decreed. Since the players (mortals) are unaware of Zeus' action, cases may seem fatal like the case of Odysseus and the Suitors, but in reality they are engineered events that have perhaps been "tweaked" according to his whims. In fact, the epic illustrates a series of cases in which Zeus exercises freedom in manipulating the 'destiny' of human beings, one of which is represented at the beginning. For example, Zeus agrees to keep Odysseus on Calypso's island because Poseidon, angry at the hero for blinding his son, insisted that Odysseus never have the chance to return home. However, once Poseidon goes to visit the Ethiopians, Athena begins to sympathize and speak of Odysseus' pity towards Zeus, and convinces him to carry out divine will for Odysseus in the following way: "...our absolute purpose: the homecoming of the enduring" Odysseus... for thus it is fated that he should see his people again and return to his high-roofed house and to the land of these fathers" (Odyssey 89). If Zeus had truly held to the concept of fate, he should have decreed not only "what" happens but also "when." While it remains questionable whether Zeus always planned Odysseus' homecoming, it is clear that he changes the agenda, an action that undermines the validity of the term "predestined." Timing is an indispensable factor in terms of fate, especially in an epic like The Odyssey, where an event can have a tremendous impact on the plot depending on the circumstances in which it occurs. For example, if Odysseus' men had only opened the bag of winds later, the crew would have reached Ithaca not only earlier but also with more surviving men. Looking at the flexible nature of Zeus, we can conclude that when he makes decisions he depends on the situation and does not hesitate to manipulate. Instead of inscribing a series of events on a stone and allowing the world to operate by.