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According to The Odyssey how significant is the role that the gods play in the fate of the mortals? How much of a role do we play? Can a god change a human's destiny and vice versa? Fate is a concept that has ruled many civilizations. The belief in destiny and the higher powers are what drive the human race to their full potential. In the epic The Odyssey, they bend their lives to the rule of fate. We are shown both examples of how the humans regard the gods, and how the gods regard the humans. It is apparent, however, that these two views contradict eachother. Men appear to put all their burdens upon the gods, while the gods beleive that these humans can control their own fate. Zeus cannot understand why the mortals blame all of their sorrows on the Gods. He points out that while the gods are supposed to accept resonsibility for the mortals problems, they are rarely thanked for a positive situation: "Ah how shameless-the way these mortals blame the gods. From us alone, they say, come all their miseries, yes, but they themselves, with their own reckless ways, compound their pains beyond their proper share." ( pg 78, lines 37-40) He is saying that we, ourselves, create our own problems and we, in tur