Homer's Iliad presents many of the sacred cultural principles present in ancient Greek culture, but the importance and gravity of fate is communicated at the forefront of the work. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay Although the exact properties of fate and how it can be changed remain a mystery to the public, the importance and honor of facing one's destiny is clear. . In The Iliad, the meaning of fate becomes more evident when mortal and semi-mortal characters learn their fate because the gods reveal it to them in particular circumstances. Characters like Achilles, Patroclus, and Hector learn their destiny from the gods, which gives them a different perspective on their lives and greatly affects their decision-making. This essay will examine these circumstances, address the intervening nature of the gods, and determine how knowledge of one's fate affects the way the character makes decisions. In the first book of The Iliad, Agamemnon and Achilles come to an angry confrontation after the gods curse their troops with a plague because Agamemnon will not return Chryses, his slave, to his father. During the argument, Agamemnon threatens Achilles, claiming that he will steal Achilles' prize, Briseis, and take Chryses home to end the plague. Achilles becomes so angry that he draws his sword when Hera sends Athena to arrest Achilles. Athena said to him: “Stop this fighting now. Do not put your hand to the sword…and I tell you – and I know it to be the truth – one day glittering gifts will lie before you, three times over to pay for all his outrage” (Homer, 84) . Achilles obeyed Athena for several reasons, the first being that the ancient Greeks looked to the gods to make decisions and interpreted certain internal thoughts as gods telling them what to do. The second reason is that Achilles is also selfish in nature. He understands Athena's prophecy as an opportunity to win the argument with Agamemnon and to antagonize him again "three times" in the future. Achilles faces other prophecies in Book Nine. His mother, the goddess Thetis, tells him that he has two possible destinies. Either Achilles will stay to fight the Trojans and die with eternal glory, or he will return home to live a long life without glory or pride. Thetis is a divine entity; therefore, her emotionality as a mother is heightened compared to that of a mortal mother, causing her to seek help for her son from other gods. She desperately wants to keep her son alive and bring him glory, and she tells him this prophecy to protect him. However, she does not think about the consequences for the mortals around her because she is immortal. Telling Achilles his two possible fates puts the Achaean army in grave danger due to the possibility that Achilles will not return to battle. When Odysseus goes to Achilles to offer prizes to Agamemnon in exchange for his return to the Achaean battle lines, Achilles refuses for two reasons. First, Achilles is stubborn and still retains his resentment towards Agamemnon. Agamemnon is now half level-headed regarding the conflict with Achilles and offers him lavish gifts to squash the argument, but Achilles still seethes with bitter anger. Second, Achilles' thirst for glory and power succumbed to his fear of death. What Achilles doesn't understand is that there is a certain form of honor in fulfilling one's destiny, but he runs away from his instead of embracing it. Knowing his fate and knowing that he will die in the Trojan War prevents Achilles from fighting. Thisblocks the troops and puts them in danger, all because his divine mother revealed his destiny to him. He announces that he plans to return home to Phthia to live a long life. Achilles is one of many mortals to learn his fate in The Iliad. In book sixteen, Patroclus comes to Achilles in tears because of his refusal to fight and thinks that Achilles is holding back because of the prophecy that Thetis told him. Patroclus asks Achilles to let him wear his armor into battle to intimidate the enemy if he does not want to fight. Achilles denies any fear and insists that he will not fight because he is still angry with Agamemnon and allows Patroclus to wear the armor. The Trojans are struck with fear when they see Patroclus in disguise. He kills many men, including Zeus' son Sarpedon. Zeus tries to intervene and save his son: "...My Sarpedon, the man I love most, my own son, doomed to die... Should I tear him away now, while he is still alive » (Homer, 426)? Hera reminds him that he cannot intervene in Sarpedon's fate: Dreadful majesty, son of Kronos, what do you say? A man, a mere mortal, whose fate has been sealed for a long time? Would you free him from all the pains of death? Do what you want, Zeus…. But none of the immortal gods will ever praise you. And I tell you, please take it to heart, if you send Sarpedon home still alive, be careful! It is certain that another god will also want to rid his own son of fierce fighting (Homer, 427). Here, Hera explains the importance of mortal fate to the gods. If Zeus or any other god "swept in" and saved mortals, ignoring the importance of their fate and that of those around them, the mortal world would turn into chaos. Although the trivial behavior of mortals has little effect on the gods, interfering in the destiny of men could cause unrest in the human world. She also comments on how the other gods will view him for acting on Sarpedon's fate. The other gods “will never praise him” for being caught in mortality. After Patroclus kills Sarpedon, he pursues the Trojans who have retreated into the city. However, Apollo seems to remind him that it is not his destiny to take the city. Apollo then makes Patroclus vulnerable in his armor and encourages Hector to kill him. When Patroclus dies, he says to Hector: “…You will not live long yourself, I swear. I already see them appearing at your side: death and the powerful force of destiny, to make you fall into the hands of the great royal son of Aeacus, Achilles” (Homer, 440)! This single battle from book sixteen involves multiple destinies that are communicated by multiple gods. The reader is not sure what exactly the properties of fate are, how fate works, or how fate can be changed. It is clear, however, that an individual's destiny is so important that even Zeus, who is mentioned as the god who determines a mortal's fate at birth, is unable to save his own son from death, because this would incite the other to make a fool of himself. gods and chaos among humans. Therefore, the gods are capable of intervening, but generally do not interfere in the fate of a mortal. Zeus almost disrupts destiny again with Hector in book twenty-two. Hector awaits his fate since Apollo reveals that it is he whom Achilles is pursuing outside the walls of Troy. Hector believes that waiting and fighting Achilles is his only option. When Achilles arrives, Hector runs and is chased around the walls of Troy. Zeus hesitates for a moment, feeling sorry for Hector, and thinks about saving him from his fate. Athena despises him for thinking this way and Zeus tells her to do what she thinks is best and not to hold back. Even after this battle and the.