Throughout the Odyssey, fate and free will of a person are determined at the hands of the gods.

Calypso was able to entrap Odysseus on an island with her. She wanted him to be with her and chose to keep him. She wanted this fate for him and chose it. Zeus then disagreed and chose to have Calypso let him go. Since Zeus did not believe that this was his fate, he let Odysseus go. The Gods even had a whole meeting about the situation of a human. They ultimatedly had this meeting to decide the fate of Odysseus. This shows the control the had over the free will of others.

In book 10, Areolus mentions something that points to the gods controlling fate. He refuses to help Odysseus because he believed that the Gods had harbored ill will towards Odysseus and wanted to do him harm. Areolus’s reluctance showcases the control that the Gods had over daily life in the Odyssey. His precautions were from a fear that the upset gods would use their power to try to punish Odysseus. Since they chose fate, Areolus wanted to avoid Odysseus because he believed the Gods would try to ruin his life and Areolus did not want to suffer as a casualty by helping him. This shows that at any moment, the gods can use their powers to change your fate based on their feelings.

Another example of the gods creating fate and manipulating free will is Athena’s manipulation of fate. She constantly uses different disguises in order to manipulate the fate of Odysseus and Telemachus. One example of this is when the suitors tried to ambush Telemachus upon his arrival at home. Telemachus’s fate was to be ambushed and possibly killed. Athena had other plans and ultimately changed this fate. She told Telemachus how to avoid this ambush. She was able to change his fate. Athena was able to manipulate the free will of others in order to help Telemachus.