In ancient Greek society, the existence of the Greek Gods and Goddesses is weaved within everyday life. Greek society believed that the Gods and Goddesses were the ones in control of whether you lived or died. Whether you had safe passage across the sea or whether your crops grew that year, among other things. This belief that there were higher beings controlling things was shown through the ancient Greek's need to stay in favor of the Gods and Goddesses. Ancient Greeks would stay in favor of the Gods and Goddesses by making offerings in temples and on alters. With the idea of higher beings controlling things down on Earth comes the debate of fate vs free will.
The idea of fate within Greek society is that one cannot control one's fate, not even the Gods can intervene. The ones who decided someone's fate were known as the three sister deities known as The Moirai, most commonly known as The Fates. Although many things are fated, in Greek mythology there is still a depiction of slight free will. However, this free-will will typically play into one's fate by either delaying it or prompting it to happen sooner. An example of this is the myth of Meleager. In the myth, the fates visit Meleager's parents to tell them of his fate. They predict that he would be noble and brave, however, he would die once one of the sticks in the fireplace had burned completely. This prompted his mother to remove one of the sticks from the fireplace and keep it safe. Although there is debate about Meleager's death, they all state that after killing the Calydonian Boar, Meleager quarreled with his uncles which led to their deaths. Upon hearing this, his mother proceeded to burn the stick which caused Meleager to die. This shows that although Meleager's Mother used her free-will to protect the stick from the fireplace, his fate was pre-destined and he died either way.
An example of a hero displaying free-will is Achilles and his double fate. Achilles' mother, Thetis, hears of his double fate and, not wanting to outlive her son, dips him in the River Styx. His double fate is that he can either become a great hero yet live a short life or, live a long life and be unknown. As we know in Homer's The Iliad, Achilles uses his free will to become a great warrior yet live a short life. This shows how, although humans may have some free-will, in the end, everything has been fated. That's not to say you can't fight it - as shown in the myth of Meleager - but in the end, you will meet your fate. The only free-will within Greek myths is how you get from point A to point B.
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