bayoread:The Morai (or Moirae) are the goddesses of fate who personify the inescapable destiny of ma
bayoread:The Morai (or Moirae) are the goddesses of fate who personify the inescapable destiny of man. They assign to every person his or her fate or share in the scheme of things. Their name means “Parts.” “Shares” or “Allotted Portions.” Zeus Moiragetes, the god of fate, was their leader. Klotho, whose name means “Spinner,” spins the thread of life. Lakhesis, whose name means “Apportioner of Lots”–being derived from a word meaning to receive by lot–, measures the thread of life. Atropos (or Aisa), whose name means “She who cannot be turned,” cuts the thread of life. At the birth of a man, the Moirai spin out the thread of his future life, follow his steps, and direct the consequences of his actions according to the counsel of the gods. It is not an inflexible fate; Zeus, if he chooses, has the power of saving even those who are already on the point of being seized by their fate. The Fates do not abruptly interfere in human affairs but availed themselves of intermediate causes, and determine the lot of mortals not absolutely, but only conditionally, even man himself, in his freedom is allowed to exercise a certain influence upon them. As man’s fate terminats at his death, the goddesses of fate become the goddesses of death, Moirai Thanatoio. The Moirai are independent, at the helm of necessity, directed fate, and watch that the fate assigned to every being by eternal laws might take its course without obstruction; and Zeus, as well as the other gods and man, has to submit to them. They assign to the Erinyes, who inflict the punishment for evil deeds, their proper functions; and with them they direct fate according to the laws of necessity. As goddesses of birth, who spin the thread of life, and even prophesy the fate of the newly born, Eileithyia is their companion. As goddesses of fate they must necessarily have known the future, which at times they reveal, and are therefore prophetic deities. Their ministers were all the soothsayers and oracles. As goddesses of death, they appear together with the Keres and the infernal Erinyes.The Moirai are described as ugly old women, sometimes lame. They are severe, inflexible and stern. Klotho carries a spindle or a roll (the book of ate), Lakhesis a staff with which she points to the horoscope on a globe, and Atropos a scroll, a wax tablet, a sundial, a pair of scales, or a cutting instrument. At other times the three are shown with staffs or sceptres, the symbols of dominion, and sometimes even with crowns. At the birth of each man they appear spinning, measuring, and cutting the thread of life. The Romans called the goddess Parcae and named the three Nona, Decuma and Morta.Above painting - A Golden Thread, John Strudwick , 1885. -- source link
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