From what I have read of the mythology, there seems to be very little free will. The Fates are in control of the strings of life, and the Gods are able to do what they wished with mortals. For example, when Zeus fell in love with a mortal woman, there was nothing that she could do to refuse and often got into trouble by Hera for actions beyond her control. The book mentioned that many women wanted nothing to do with an infatuated God because of the ramifications. The Greeks seemed to have put the future into the hands of the Gods through profecies that they could not change rather than free will which they didn't mention. More often, they referred to the "will of the Gods" by which they were to abide.
It seems to me that there is little, if any, free will in mythology. The Fates weave a person's life. Hamilton states the Fates' names and responsibilities. Clotho spins the thread of life. Lachesis assigns each man his destiny. Atropos cuts the thread when one's life has ended. This puts no doubt in my mind that each man had no choice of having his own free will.
In all of the stories retold by Edith Hamilton, not one depicts a mortal being able to fool or deny the gods. Sometimes the gods pity a mortal enough to allow them to bring back a loved one from the dead such as Orpheus (though he did not succeed) or when a human dies and they decide to bring them back as a different creature. Though the inhabitants of Olympus occasionally acquiesce to a mortal’s wishes, more often than not they would rather have their own way than try to please a person on Earth. A human’s fate is determined before they are born and cannot be changed without the help of the usually unwilling gods.
In Greek and Roman mythology, it is impossible to cheat fate. No matter what actions are taken to try to change the inevitable outcome, fate always wins. In many stories, fate seems to be the force that the main character is fighting, such as in the tale of Perseus when King Acrisius is told that his daughter will have a son that will one day kill him. King Acrisius tries to change fate by using his free will. In the end though, those choices that he made ended up leading to his predicted destiny. Free will is used by many characters, but it always leads to their fate. Sometimes, free will even ruins a good thing that the gods have tried to do, such as in the story of Orpheus and Eurydice when Orpheus turns around too soon and Eurydice is sent back to the Underworld. In most Greek and Roman mythology tales, free will can be a hindrance and fate always wins.
In both Greek and Roman mythology, fate (or The Fates) plays a very powerful part. Once the fate of a person was decided, nothing could be done. Not even with the help of a god could a person change his or her fate. The Fates are said to be so almighty, that not even Zeus could interfere in their judgement. There are many stories of characters that have tried to change their fate, but were unsuccessful (i.e. King Acrisius of Argos). Free will is feeble when compared to fate.
In Roman and Greek mythology there is almost no free will. The Fates control all of life. Once your fate was decided it cound not be changed. The Roman and Greek people would, in turn, live out their fate no matter what they did to try and change it.
The fate of man is descried when they are born. They can't change that. They my think they have free will but as soon as they start to think past the Gods, they either get killed or suffer a worst fate then death itself.
The Greeks and Romans believed that their fates were decided before they were born, that there fates were like a book in the Gods library. Every one has a limited free will as long as they stay on track of their fate. Trying to change their fates no matter how tragic they can end can lead to the deadliest consequences.The Greeks and Romans really express their view on fate and how it can never be changed by stories like Oedipus Rex. In which Oedipus discovers that he will kill his father and marry his mother. Oedipus shocked by his fate tries to take matters into his own hands. Oedipus leaves Cornith and heads to thebes were his real parents are. In the end Oedipus is punished. This story reveals that the Greeeks and Romans believe heavily on fate and that once its written it can never be changed (only the gods have the power to change a fate). Free will does exist but if you abuse it like Oedipus you will be punished.
it appears that in greek mythology, the people are the pawns and play things of the gods. every man and womans fate is controlled by the sisters of the fate and the threads of life. a each persons fate is chosen when they are born and they have no controll over it. and when atropos has decided that this person has lived long enough,she cuts the thread of life. there is NO free will in greek mythology
Evidently in Ancient Greece, free will did not exist yet. Everything was predetermined right down to the person you would marry, your secret lover disguised as a mortal, your illegitimate child with said lover, and how this lover's real wife tortured you for the remainder of your life. Free will just didn't happen. Now, people might have felt they were cheating destiny or pulling the wool over the Fates' single eyeball but they really weren't. The Fates had it all figured out. Lachesis determined everyone's path in life, Clotho spun it all into their individual thread of life, and when your time is up, you did all you were meant to do, Atropos finished you off with her shears. Free will never had a chance to speak out against the blasphemy, Atropos cut him off before he could draw breath.
According to Greek and Roman mythology, The Fates are in control of your life. They aren't directly in control but they set it on a path that ultimately cannot be changed. Clotho spins the thread of life, Lachesis assigns each persons destiny, and Atropos cuts the thread, ending the persons life. This leaves no room for any free will. Even if someone tries to escape fate, they end up failing. One example is the story of Oedipus. His parents tried to escape fate by leaving him to die. He ended up living and in the end having four children with his mother. This shows, that in the ancient world, you can't escape fate.
Well, even though the fates control people's lives, the people also can decide for themselves. Is it not free will if a person does not know their fate? However, most people go and ask Apollo about their future. If it is a bad future, the person would try to change it, but in the end the prediction would play out. A good example of this is what happened to Oedipus's dad. So even though most Greeks accepted the idea of fate, most of them made decisions as well.
In mythology men had no free will. The Fates control their live. There are countless examples of men attempting to avoid their fate throughout Greek and Roman mythology, all of them failed. There is even a line in which Hera sarcastically asks Zeus if we would try to defy Fate. This suggests that not even the gods had the ability to defy Fate.
In the book, Mythology, it seems evident that the characters have little, if any, control over what happens in their lives. Rarely do you see someone take control of their own fate by using free will. Take, for example, the story of Oedipus. Fate procliamed that he would kill his father and marry his mother. Despite efforts to drive Fate away (King Laius left Oedipus to die), Fate still made the prophecy come true and there was nothing that Oedipus, Laius, or Jacosta could do about it. Fate is claimed to be so powerful, that even the gods possessed little control over it. This shows that the characters in mythology had little, if any, choosing in their destiny.
There seems to be little free will, if any at all. When someone tries to run from something, it still catches up to them. Also, if a person is with powers, such as Hercules, their life has been chosen by the gods. Their life could be very rough as well but all lead up to their final destiny. Of course, Hercules was also born a god but there are still other cases where challenges are presented, faced, and ultimately defeated because the gods were there the whole time guiding the person on their way.
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From what I have read of the mythology, there seems to be very little free will. The Fates are in control of the strings of life, and the Gods are able to do what they wished with mortals. For example, when Zeus fell in love with a mortal woman, there was nothing that she could do to refuse and often got into trouble by Hera for actions beyond her control. The book mentioned that many women wanted nothing to do with an infatuated God because of the ramifications. The Greeks seemed to have put the future into the hands of the Gods through profecies that they could not change rather than free will which they didn't mention. More often, they referred to the "will of the Gods" by which they were to abide.
It seems to me that there is little, if any, free will in mythology. The Fates weave a person's life. Hamilton states the Fates' names and responsibilities. Clotho spins the thread of life. Lachesis assigns each man his destiny. Atropos cuts the thread when one's life has ended. This puts no doubt in my mind that each man had no choice of having his own free will.
In all of the stories retold by Edith Hamilton, not one depicts a mortal being able to fool or deny the gods. Sometimes the gods pity a mortal enough to allow them to bring back a loved one from the dead such as Orpheus (though he did not succeed) or when a human dies and they decide to bring them back as a different creature. Though the inhabitants of Olympus occasionally acquiesce to a mortal’s wishes, more often than not they would rather have their own way than try to please a person on Earth. A human’s fate is determined before they are born and cannot be changed without the help of the usually unwilling gods.
In Greek and Roman mythology, it is impossible to cheat fate. No matter what actions are taken to try to change the inevitable outcome, fate always wins. In many stories, fate seems to be the force that the main character is fighting, such as in the tale of Perseus when King Acrisius is told that his daughter will have a son that will one day kill him. King Acrisius tries to change fate by using his free will. In the end though, those choices that he made ended up leading to his predicted destiny. Free will is used by many characters, but it always leads to their fate. Sometimes, free will even ruins a good thing that the gods have tried to do, such as in the story of Orpheus and Eurydice when Orpheus turns around too soon and Eurydice is sent back to the Underworld. In most Greek and Roman mythology tales, free will can be a hindrance and fate always wins.
In both Greek and Roman mythology, fate (or The Fates) plays a very powerful part. Once the fate of a person was decided, nothing could be done. Not even with the help of a god could a person change his or her fate. The Fates are said to be so almighty, that not even Zeus could interfere in their judgement. There are many stories of characters that have tried to change their fate, but were unsuccessful (i.e. King Acrisius of Argos). Free will is feeble when compared to fate.
In Roman and Greek mythology there is almost no free will. The Fates control all of life. Once your fate was decided it cound not be changed. The Roman and Greek people would, in turn, live out their fate no matter what they did to try and change it.
The fate of man is descried when they are born. They can't change that. They my think they have free will but as soon as they start to think past the Gods, they either get killed or suffer a worst fate then death itself.
The Greeks and Romans believed that their fates were decided before they were born, that there fates were like a book in the Gods library. Every one has a limited free will as long as they stay on track of their fate. Trying to change their fates no matter how tragic they can end can lead to the deadliest consequences.The Greeks and Romans really express their view on fate and how it can never be changed by stories like Oedipus Rex. In which Oedipus discovers that he will kill his father and marry his mother. Oedipus shocked by his fate tries to take matters into his own hands. Oedipus leaves Cornith and heads to thebes were his real parents are. In the end Oedipus is punished. This story reveals that the Greeeks and Romans believe heavily on fate and that once its written it can never be changed (only the gods have the power to change a fate). Free will does exist but if you abuse it like Oedipus you will be punished.
it appears that in greek mythology, the people are the pawns and play things of the gods. every man and womans fate is controlled by the sisters of the fate and the threads of life. a each persons fate is chosen when they are born and they have no controll over it. and when atropos has decided that this person has lived long enough,she cuts the thread of life. there is NO free will in greek mythology
Evidently in Ancient Greece, free will did not exist yet. Everything was predetermined right down to the person you would marry, your secret lover disguised as a mortal, your illegitimate child with said lover, and how this lover's real wife tortured you for the remainder of your life. Free will just didn't happen. Now, people might have felt they were cheating destiny or pulling the wool over the Fates' single eyeball but they really weren't. The Fates had it all figured out. Lachesis determined everyone's path in life, Clotho spun it all into their individual thread of life, and when your time is up, you did all you were meant to do, Atropos finished you off with her shears. Free will never had a chance to speak out against the blasphemy, Atropos cut him off before he could draw breath.
According to Greek and Roman mythology, The Fates are in control of your life. They aren't directly in control but they set it on a path that ultimately cannot be changed. Clotho spins the thread of life, Lachesis assigns each persons destiny, and Atropos cuts the thread, ending the persons life. This leaves no room for any free will. Even if someone tries to escape fate, they end up failing. One example is the story of Oedipus. His parents tried to escape fate by leaving him to die. He ended up living and in the end having four children with his mother. This shows, that in the ancient world, you can't escape fate.
Well, even though the fates control people's lives, the people also can decide for themselves. Is it not free will if a person does not know their fate? However, most people go and ask Apollo about their future. If it is a bad future, the person would try to change it, but in the end the prediction would play out. A good example of this is what happened to Oedipus's dad. So even though most Greeks accepted the idea of fate, most of them made decisions as well.
In mythology men had no free will. The Fates control their live. There are countless examples of men attempting to avoid their fate throughout Greek and Roman mythology, all of them failed. There is even a line in which Hera sarcastically asks Zeus if we would try to defy Fate. This suggests that not even the gods had the ability to defy Fate.
In the book, Mythology, it seems evident that the characters have little, if any, control over what happens in their lives. Rarely do you see someone take control of their own fate by using free will. Take, for example, the story of Oedipus. Fate procliamed that he would kill his father and marry his mother. Despite efforts to drive Fate away (King Laius left Oedipus to die), Fate still made the prophecy come true and there was nothing that Oedipus, Laius, or Jacosta could do about it. Fate is claimed to be so powerful, that even the gods possessed little control over it. This shows that the characters in mythology had little, if any, choosing in their destiny.
There seems to be little free will, if any at all. When someone tries to run from something, it still catches up to them. Also, if a person is with powers, such as Hercules, their life has been chosen by the gods. Their life could be very rough as well but all lead up to their final destiny. Of course, Hercules was also born a god but there are still other cases where challenges are presented, faced, and ultimately defeated because the gods were there the whole time guiding the person on their way.
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