Zeus Cross-Examined is a perfect title for the dialogue by Lucian that presents a satirical description of the conversation of the supreme god and a mortal whose disbelief in Zeus’ power sets the tone for the whole talk. The cross-examination of the god turns out to be fatal for him; as a result, the role of the deity is diminished and severely criticized. Zeus’ opponent, Cyniscus, succeeds in setting traps for the god and becomes the unquestionable winner of the argument due to his eloquence and because of Zeus’ wrong conduct and the disadvantageous position he adopts in the course of the controversy. It could have been possible to reach an alternative finale of the conversation if Zeus had adopted a different behavioral pattern.
First of all, if I were the Deity questioned by a mortal, I would behave according to the status ascribed to gods. Zeus as a supreme god should demonstrate his rightful dominance instead of getting into the shoes of the accused of his powerlessness in the face of Fate. The general conduct of Zeus during the talk doomed him to failure. First, I would never let myself be involved in such a long and, obviously, tricky talk with a mortal. Second, I would never resort to questioning him like Zeus did when he was astonished by Cyniscus’ assertion that Cretan would not have a right to punish anyone. Zeus showed that he did not possess supreme intelligence, his knowledge was limited, and that spilled his reputation in the eyes of the opponent and the audience if there happened to be the audience.
Secondly, there could be a strong temptation to lie when answering Cyniscus’ question if the Fates controlled Gods (Lucian unpaged). If Zeus answered negatively, there would have been no further argument as Cyniscus would have lost his main weapon. Still, to lie is not appropriate for gods, it is evident. However, I would mention that the Fates are considered to be the daughters of Zeus and Themis. If they are the children of such noble parents, they will never do harm to them.
Besides, as the evidence can be the only support of ideas in any argument, I would mention the Temple of Zeus at Megara that has the significant inscription that says that Zeus “is the only god obeyed by Destiny” (Pausanias et al. 215). Probably, other gods stood in awe of Destiny and the Fates, but Zeus was not among them. This would be the statement that would grant Zeus victory, though it would be impossible to prove that other gods were as powerful as the Fates as they were, evidently, not so powerful.
I would also try to sound more convincing when I talked about the fact that though the Fates could influence the gods, they could not deprive them of their lives. “The life of Gods is one round of blessing” (Lucian unpaged) is an unsubstantiated statement; it is a weak argument as it is false. Still, the Fates cannot take Gods’ lives, and this gives them an opportunity to correct their mistakes, to avoid death throes. If Cyniscus said that death could set people free from the control of Fate, I would answer that people also lost all pleasant opportunities: to love, to give birth to children, etc. if they died. Gods’ immortality made them equal with the Fates.
Finally, I believe, it is not necessary to give counter-evidence to all statements and questions by Cyniscus. The arguments I have offered in this paper would prove to be sufficient to create a good opposition to Cyniscus’ fatalism. The final statement that would ensure Zeus’ victory could be the idea that by total conformity to destiny, a man-made himself miserable, weak-willed, and passive. If death was the relief, every person should become eager to die as soon as he/she was born.
Reference
Lucias. Zeus Cross-Examined. 2010. Web.
Pausanias, Jones, William Henry Samuel, Osmerod, Henry Arderne, and Richard Ernest Wycherley. Pausanias Description of Greece. USA: Harvard University Press.