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 The role of fate-2
That which God writes on thy forehead, thou wilt come to it
--The Koran
II. Fate - Its place in other religions/mythologies around the world
In Judaism, the belief in free will reigns supreme. But in the Jewish tradition various fatalistic beliefs can be seen. The belief that there is a person one is destined to marry is one example. Also poverty or prosperity is fated to certain people is another belief which falls in the area of destiny. Providence is generally believed to regulate people's lives. But there is also room for directive efforts. It is declared in the High Holiday liturgy that God records, "who will live and who will die" each Rosh Hashanah in the Book of Life. Even if someone is destined to suffer the evil effects of fate, they can be mitigated by prayer, charity, and repentance. Although the universal doom is attached to being mortal, it is also undermined by the possibility of eternal life through good deeds.
 In
Greek mythology, there was a triumvirate who controlled the destiny of everyone from the time they were born to the time they died. The three goddesses were called The Fates or Moirae. They were Clotho, the spinner, who spun the thread of a person's life, Lachesis, the apportioner, who decided how much time was to be allowed each person, and Atropos, the inevitable, who cut the thread when one was supposed to die. All the other gods, although powerful in their own regard, were fearful of the Moirae. All were subject to the whims of the Moirae. Nothing is done against the ordinances of Moirae. Life must meet its end at some point and at the end of life another realm takes over.
While the Fates were often portrayed as cold and merciless, they would also yield to the pleading of others. Thus when Atropos cut the thread of King Admetus (Apollo's friend) at the appointed hour, Apollo begged the Fates to relent. It was not in their power to undo what was previously decided but they promised that if someone else took Admetus's place in the underworld, he could live. The king's wife said she would take his place and the king was spared. At the end Hercules rescued her from the underworld and reunited her with the king. It is thus seen that there is destiny and counter-destiny.
Let us look at some other incidents of the indomitable fate in Greek mythology. Cronus, a Titan, was supposed to be overthrown by one of his children. In trying to avoid that fate, he tried to eat them all. But it did not work when his wife deceived him and spared the life of Zeus. In the end, Zeus overthrows his father and becomes the king of the gods, a realisation that fate shall prevail.
(This episode is reminiscent of the oracle heard by Kamsan that his sister's eighth child would kill him and to avoid that fate he kills all his sister's children as soon as they were born. But the eighth child, Krishna, was taken away to a secret location before Kamsan was aware of that birth. Krishna ended up killing Kamsan as predicted by the oracle).
 Hercules (the Roman name for the Greek Heracles), born to Zeus and a mortal woman was cursed by Hera (Zeus's wife) to commit a sin of murdering his wife and children in an insane moment. When Hercules realised his crime, he prayed to Apollo for guidance and the god's oracle at Delphi told him that he has to perform twelve difficult labours for Eurystheus (king of Tiryns) in order to get redemption. He finished all the labours, with the help of Hermes and Athena, which made him the greatest Greek hero and his name came to be associated with impossible (Herculean) tasks. Wherever there was some divine ordination to undergo punishment there was also a way out to get redemption sometimes.
Acrisius, an ancient king of Argos, when told of a prophecy that he will be killed by the son born to his daughter, packed both his daughter (Danae) and her son (Perseus) in a wooden chest and let them float in the ocean. However, they were saved by the ocean god Poseidon. Perseus grew up and turned into an athlete. He later visited Argos to participate in a sporting event. He threw a discus which ended up killing Acrisius, fulfilling the prophecy.
In the great epic, Iliad, the fates of Paris, Hector, and Achilles are intertwined so inextricably that despite the heroism of Hector and Achilles they both were killed in accordance with fate. When Paris, the prince of Troy, abducted Helen (daughter of Zeus and Leda, and wife of Menelaus), it precipitated the Trojan War. Achilles was given immortality when his mother, Thetis, dipped her child in the river Styx. However, it was the decree of fate that there was a vulnerable spot, namely the heels by which he was held. It was this spot that was wounded by an arrow shot by Paris which caused Achilles' death. Hector, older brother of Paris, knew well that Troy cannot fall until he falls. It was Achilles who killed Hector which was a turning point in the Trojan War. Achilles knew that Greek victory was dependent upon his own death. For both heroes, Achilles and Hector, it was an inescapable struggle. Hector must be brave and save his own life while protecting Troy. Achilles must be brave enough to kill Hector while knowing he will end up giving his own life ultimately. Could Hector and Achilles have saved their lives by going away from the war? How could they when fate willed it otherwise? The various gods conspired amongst themselves to take revenge on each other's mortal accomplices!
In the words of the great Thamizh poet tiruvaLLuvar,
Uzhin peruvali yAvuLa-maRRonRu
sUzhinum tAnmu^n duRum
(Is there anything stronger than Fate? Even when one devises something to overcome Fate, it still will prevail
invariably).
Such is the recurring theme of fate all over the world.
Sethuraman Subramanian
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