Topic: how fate and freewill were incorporated into the story and the roles they play Fateful Freewill Throughout the development of the world to how we see it today, the one thing that has united all societies and cultures is a belief in a higher power. Not all cultures believe in the same higher power but they all believe in something, they can all relate to believing in something bigger than themselves, not necessarily something they can see everyday and a tangible idea, but having faith in something. In the Greek culture and belief system the gods play a very important role in determining your fate. In Greek mythology, the Greek Gods are always very key, important figures throughout the story often becoming involved and interfering in the characters lives personally. The gods determine the paths of the characters—creating the characters’ fate. But the characters have to choose to embark on the journey, symbolizing their choice in free will. In the story of The Odyssey told by Homer, the gods have consistently intervened in the lives of Telemachos, Penelope, and Odysseus guiding them along their path chosen by the Gods but letting them have some choice in it. In some situations it is necessary for the Gods to intervene. In order to get the ball rolling for Telemachus, Athene had to go into disguise and persuade Telemachos to go on the journey. It was Telemachos fate to be reunited with his father, but it was his own freewill to choose how to go on a quest to find him. Without the intervention and persuasion of Athene, Telemachos would have simply been a bystander, hoping Odysseus would come back and rid his palace of the suitors instead of doing something about it himself. When Athene inquires about the big feast that is taking place for the suitors Telemachos answers, ‘My guest, since indeed you are asking me all these questions, there was a time