The three Moirai names were Clotho, Lachesis, and Antropos, and each of them was the owner of a distinctive character which turned them into unique beings. She also made major decisions, for instance when a person was to be born. This allowed her to not only choose who was born, but also when gods or mortals were to be saved or put to death. This would represent their destiny, and she was in charge of deciding how much time of life was to be allotted to each person.
It is also believed that she was in charge of choosing the fate of every person once the thread had been measured. Atropos, who was the oldest of the three Fates, was also known as the Inevitable. She was closely related to death since it was Atropos who would choose the mechanism of death.
It was her task to end the life of mortals by cutting their thread. The three Moirai, or Fates represented the cycle of life, essentially standing for birth, life, and death. Unlike the Horai, their siblings and the goddesses of the seasons and other natural periods of time, who were always shown as youthful, beautiful women, the Moirai were depicted as ugly and old women in antiquity. Some say they even decide who's good and bad and exactly how your life will turn out.
Not even the gods dared to cross the fates. It's said that they control their fates as well. Clotho Spinner spins out the thread of life, which carries with it the fate of each human being from the moment of birth; Lachesis Apportioner measures the thread; and Atropos Inflexible , sometimes characterized as the smallest and most terrible, cuts it off and brings life to an end.
The Fates were three goddesses—Atropos, Clotho and Lachesis—who controlled the fates of mortals—and sometimes the gods. Even Zeus could be subject to the decisions of the Fates. Some myths describe the Fates as spinning several threads, each representing a mortal. The threads could be cut, they could cross paths or be twisted in several directions. Curated Collections of the Most Useful Facts. What's This?
The Fates In Greek mythology, the Moirai—often known in English as the Fates—were the white-robed incarnations of destiny. Curated by Anastasia Romanova Knowledge Cards. Views Share. Curated Facts The Fates were even more powerful than the gods, though this did not stop the gods from trying.
Saves 32 Share. Saves 81 Share. Saves Share. Saves 48 Share. Article: The Fates Greek Mytholo Source: Ancient-Mythology. It is not clear that there were any priests or priestesses assigned to the Fates themselves however. Augury, which involves the interpretation of the flights, chattering or singing of birds, was a common method of foretelling the future, but other methods were used.
An oracle, which was actually a babbling priestess, could also be used. Priests would make an interpretation that would reveal fate. But any of the gods and goddesses had knowledge of fate and a priest or priestess would not have to be associated with a particular deity. The oracle at Delphi was associated with Apollo, for example.
In this context he acts as a shaman. Answer: The Fates are aloof from humans. They lay out the fabric of existence establishing fixed points that anchor humans in physical reality. The Greeks were aware of the predictability of reality and were anxious to establish causes so they could control reality to their own benefit. They realized that some causes were beyond their control and even beyond the whims of the devine.
But they thought other causes were controlled by the Gods. Finally, they knew that man had choices that could be made even though they were limited. But the Greeks had a sense that if you knew what was fated, you might be able to take advantage of what was fated. They turned to the divinities to provide this information even though they had to receive it in encrypted form.
Question: are the norns in northern mythology like the fate in greek mythology? Answer: The Norns and Fates are similar. There are many other numbers that are important besides three. There is a theory that in ancient Greece there was a ceremony with three parts that each needed a divinity. This ceremony was so useful that it divided a number of the divinities into three. Three fates, three graces, three charities, etc. The Muses were divided into three twice so there are nine.
Some were seen as one or three depending upon the circumstances such as Artemis consisting of Artemis, Selene, and Hecate girl, woman, and crone. Some lost their third as with Demeter and Persephone. Most of the Triplets are women but Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades form such a triplet.
The number three is also often associated with the phases of the moon. The ceremony requiring three priestesses is initiation: unintiated, transition, initiated. This corresponds to life, death, and afterlife and maiden, marriage, and mother.
Answer: The Moirae Fates did not live in the ordinary sense, as they were immortal. So strictly they did not have turning points. As with the other ancient Greek deities they were born to a certain realm, the destiny of man, and they maintain this realm forever. But the concept of the Moirae has changed over time. Originally there was one, then two, and then finally three were recognized. Their parents are not clearly identified but it seems most reasonable to say they are daughters of Zeus.
This is because the destiny of a man is part of the divine plan of Zeus and the Moirae can then be seen as carrying out the divine plan of Zeus. So the major event in their divine life could be their birth to their realm of maintaining the destiny of man.
Some unusual events include when Apollo induced the Moirae to grant Admentus delivery from death, if at the hour of his death his father, mother, or wife would die for him. Also an attempt was made by the Moire and Eileithyia to delay the birth of Heracles. Every oracle and soothsayer can be considered a priest or priestess of the Moirae because they attempt to interpret destiny in order to change it.
Where and when were the sisters born? Also, when and where did they start determining the destiny of man? Our website is made possible by displaying online advertisements to our visitors. Please consider supporting us by disabling your ad blocker.
I do not have a picture of the three fates but here is a spinner: Click here And here is a weaver: Click here This could be Atropos getting ready to cut: Click here There are three fates because the ancient Mycenaeans tripled goddesses. The process of preparing the thread of life involves three steps: The drawing of lots.
This seems to be like what is done with runes. The runes are an alphabet with each letter carved on a wooden button. Each letter is associated with a possible event type. The buttons are placed in a bag and drawn out one by one. The order and nature of the ones drawn are used to determine the future. Runes can be directly translated to Greek letters which can be treated similarly.
Though it seems as though the thread of life could consist of buttons strung together, the Fates may have made their tokens out of embroidery. This is suggested by the emphasis on weaving in the names of the fates. One can hypothesize a Indo-European root but it seems not to be available.
The lots are spun, woven, or knotted together. Spinning involves a bending of fibers in a way that keeps them that way and so this derivation is consistent with the understood meaning of the name. Finally the thread is finished by being cut. This repesents the time of death for the mortal. Question: who did the fates deal with Answer: The fate of all humans was dealt out by the Fates, but the fate could not be altered by the Gods. Question: Where do the Fates live?
Question: Are there ancient Greek dramas in which the Fates are given featured roles? Question: what do they think about destiny?
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