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Moirai




:''For other meanings, see Fate , a disambiguation page. See also The Fates .

In , euphemistically the "sparing ones", or Fata'''; also equivalent to the Germanic Norns ). They controlled the metaphorical thread of life of every mortal and immortal from birth to death (and Beyond ). Even the gods feared the Moirae. Zeus also was subject to their power, as the Pythian priestess at Delphi once admitted. The Greek word ''moira'' () literally means a part or portion, and by extension one's portion in life or destiny.

H.J. Rose writes that Nyx ("Night") was also the mother of the MoiraeH.J. Rose, ''Handbook of Greek Mythology'', p.24 as she was of the Erinyes , in the Orphic tradition.

The three Moirae were:
  • Clotho ( Pronounced In English , Greek — "spinner") spun the thread of life from her distaff onto her spindle. Her Roman equivalent was ''Nona'', (the 'Ninth'), who was originally a goddess called upon in the ninth month of Pregnancy .

  • Lachesis (, Greek — "allotter" or drawer of lots) measured the thread of life with her rod. Her Roman equivalent was ''Decima'' (the 'Tenth').

  • Atropos (, Greek — "inexorable" or "inevitable", literally "unturning",Compare the ancient goddess Adrasteia , the "inescapable". sometimes called '''Aisa''') was the cutter of the thread of life. She chose the manner of a person's death. When she cut the thread with "her abhorrèd shears", someone on Earth died. Her Roman equivalent was ''Mors'' ('Death').

  • The Moirae were supposed to appear three nights after a child's birth to determine the course of its life. The Greeks variously claimed that they were the daughters of Zeus and the Titan ess Themis or of primordial beings like Nyx , Chaos or Ananke .


Tapestry ]]

In earlier times, the Moirae were represented as only a few - perhaps only one - individual goddess. , who had an earlier, pre-Olympic existence, was called ''Aphrodite Urania'' the 'eldest of the Fates' according to Pausanias (x.24.4).

A bilingual Eteocretan text has the following Greek translation

::Ομοσαι δαπερ Ενορκίοισι.
::Omosai d-haper Enorkioisi.
::But may he swear {Link without Title} very things to the Oath-Keepers

in Eteocretan this is rendered as