Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Moirai (/ ˈ m ɔɪ r aɪ,-r iː /)—often known in English as the Fates—were the personifications of destiny. They were three sisters: Clotho (the spinner), Lachesis (the allotter), and Atropos (the inevitable, a metaphor for death). Their Roman equivalent is the Parcae. [1]
The Moirai, meaning "allotted portion" or "share", separated each sister into a different role in order to handle the fates of humans. The Fates were expected to appear within three days of a mortal's birth. [2] Clotho was the first of the three, known as "the spinner" because she wove the threads of human life while in the womb. [3]
Atropos (/ ˈ æ t r ə p ɒ s,-p ə s /; [1] [2] Ancient Greek: Ἄτροπος "without turn"), in Greek mythology, was the third of the Three Fates or Moirai, goddesses of fate and destiny. Her Roman equivalent was Morta. Atropos was the eldest of the Three Fates and was known as "the Inflexible One."
In classical religious iconography or mythological art, [4] three separate beings may represent either a triad who typically appear as a group (the Greek Moirai, Charites, and Erinyes; the Norse Norns; or the Irish Morrígan) or a single deity notable for having three aspects (Greek Hecate, Roman Diana). [5]
Clotho was worshiped in many places in Greece as one of the Three Fates and is sometimes associated with the Keres and Erinyes, which are other deity groups in Greek mythology. Ariadne , the Greek goddess of fertility, is similar to Clotho in that she carries a ball of thread, much like Clotho's spindle.
Lachesis (/ ˈ l æ k ɪ s ɪ s / LAK-iss-iss; Ancient Greek: Λάχεσις, romanized: Lákhesis, lit. 'disposer of lots'; from λαγχάνω lanchánō, 'to obtain by lot, by fate, or by the will of the gods'), in ancient Greek religion, was the middle of the Three Fates, or Moirai; the others were her sisters, Clotho and Atropos.
Decima (Greek Lachesis), who measured the thread of life with her rod; [6] Morta (Greek Atropos), who cut the thread of life and chose the manner of a person's death. [7] [8] [9] The earliest extant documents referencing these deities are three small stelae (cippi) found near ancient Lavinium shortly after World War II. [10] They bear the ...
Moreover, theories have been proposed that the idea that there are three main norns may be due to a late influence from Greek and Roman mythology, where there are also spinning fate goddesses (Moirai and Parcae). [2]