Fate and Free Will

Characters often struggle against prophecies and predetermined destinies, as with Oedipus or the fall of Troy, yet their choices and actions—like Ulysses' cunning—also shape outcomes, highlighting a tension between fate and agency.

The characters are caught between their own choices and the inescapable outcomes set by divine will or misunderstanding, as seen in the tragic ends of Pyramus and Thisbe and Cephalus and Procris.

The lovers' plan to defy their parents' prohibition ends in tragedy, highlighting the interplay of choice and destiny.

Despite Cephalus's faithfulness and Procris's gifts, a series of misunderstandings and coincidences lead to an inescapable tragic outcome, highlighting the interplay of choice and destiny.

Actaeon is described as being 'led thither by his destiny,' suggesting that his fate was predetermined, despite his innocent intentions.