Divinatory presages in heroic stories of Scandinavian and Greek mytology

This paper attempts to describe the interventions of the fate into the lives of chosen characters from the heroic stories presented by Scandinavian legendary sagas, heroic lays from Poetic Edda, Homeric epics and Greek tragedies. After the general introduction, which briefly describes the concepts of the fate in both mythologies, follows a quiet extensive part about the deities determining the fate. Furthermore, the term divinatory presages is defined, and descriptions of several characters, who tell the presages are said. The major focus of the paper, which examines the specific heroic stories, follows. That implies, how the heroes obtain the presages, who or what is telling the presages and especially how the heroes react: whether by activity or by passive submission and what is the result of those reactions. The conclusion should summarize the role of the fate and the divinatory presages in the mythologies of both cultures. Key words: Ancient Greek heroic mytology, Old Norse heroic mythology, fate, prophecy, reaction to necessity