# Atropos

Part of a series on :
Ancient Greek religion :
Origins
Ancient Greek religion
Mycenaean Greece, Mycenaean religion and Mycenaean deities
Minoan Civilization, Minoan religion
Classical Greece
Hellenistic Greece, Hellenistic religion :
Sacred placesSacred islands
Delos
Ithaca
Naxos
Kythira
Samothrace
Crete
Lemnos
Sacred mountains
Mount Lykaion
Mount Ida (Turkey)
Mount Ida (Crete)
Mount Olympus
Mount Kyllini
Mount Othrys
Sanctuaries
Aornum
Delphi
Didyma
Dion
Dodona
Eleusis
Olympia
Other
Cave of Zeus
Troy :
Deities
Olympians
Aphrodite
Apollo
Ares
Artemis
Athena
Demeter
Dionysus
Hephaestus
Hera
Hermes
Hestia
Poseidon
Zeus
Chthonic deities
Hades
Persephone
Erinyes
Gaia
Hecate
Iacchus
Melinoë
Triptolemus
Trophonius
Lesser deities
Alpheus
Amphitrite
Asclepius
Boreas
Circe
Cybele
Deimos
Eileithyia
Enyo
Eos
Eris
Eros
Harmonia
Hebe
Hecate
Helios
Heracles
Iris
Leto
Maia
Metis
Nemesis
Nereus
Nike
Nyx
Pan
Persephone
Phobos
Priapus
Proteus
Rhea
Scamander
Selene
Thanatos
Themis
Thetis
Triton
Zephyrus :
ConceptsWorldview
Greek mythology
Orphic Egg
Underworld and afterlife
Miasma
Daimon
Ages of Man, Golden Age, Heroic Age
Divine and reality
Apeiron
Monism
Polytheism
Pantheism
Form of the Good
Theory of forms
Mind
Anamnesis
Ataraxia
Apatheia
Episteme
Epoche
Eudaimonia
Katalepsis
Logos
Nous
Phronesis
Soul
Anima mundi
Metempsychosis
Henosis
Plato's theory of soul
Ethics
Agape
Arete
Asebeia
Eusebeia
Hubris
Xenia
Ethic of Reciprocity
Delphic maxims
Adiaphora
Kathekon
Oikeiosis
Mysteries
Eleusinian Mysteries
Orphism
Dionysian Mysteries :
PracticesWorship
Agalma
Dithyramb
Paean
Orgion
Hiera Orgas
Hero Cult
Oracle and Pythia
Sacrifices and offerings
Holokaustos
Libation
Votive offering
Animal Sacrifice
Temples and holy sites
Temple
Temenos
Meditation and charity
Eusebeia
Meditation
Euergetism
Rites of passage
Amphidromia
Marriage
Funeral Rites
Festivals
Thesmophoria
Dionysia
Daphnephoria
Anthesteria
Arrephoria
Kronia
Genesia
Elaphebolia
Pyanopsia
Khalkeia
Haloa
Halieia
Thargelia
Monthly festivals
Noumenia
Religious games
Panathenaia
Herakleia
Panhellenic Games
Olympic Games
Nemean Games
Pythian Games
Isthmian Games :
Philosophy
Pythagoreanism
Neopythagoreanism
Platonism
Middle Platonism
Neoplatonism :
Philosophers
Ancient
Hesiod
Homer
Pherecydes of Syros
Pythagoras
Xenophanes
Parmenides
Empedocles
Socrates
Plato
Aratus
Plutarch
Plotinus
Iamblichus
Julian (emperor) :
Texts
Argonautica
Bibliotheca
Corpus Hermeticum
Delphic maxims
Derveni papyrus
Dionysiaca
Epic Cycle
Homeric Hymns
Iliad
Odyssey
Orphic Hymns
Theogony
Works and Days :
Other topics
Pilgrimage sites
Calendar
Decline of Greco-Roman polytheism
Julian restoration
Modern Restoration :
Religion portal Ancient Greece portal :
vte :
Atropos (/ˈætrəpɒs, -pəs/; 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." It was Atropos who chose the manner of death and ended the life of mortals by cutting their threads. She worked along with her two sisters, Clotho, who spun the thread, and Lachesis, who measured the length. Atropos has been featured in several stories, such as those of Atalanta and Achilles.

## Origin

Her origin, along with the other two fates, is uncertain, although some called them the daughters of the night. It is clear, however, that at a certain period they ceased to be only concerned with death and also became those powers who decided what may happen to individuals. Although Zeus was the chief Greek god and their father, he was still subject to the decisions of the Fates, and thus the executor of destiny, rather than its source. According to Hesiod's Theogony, Atropos and her sisters (Clotho and Lachesis) were the daughters of Erebus (Darkness) and Nyx (Night) and sisters to Thanatos and Hypnos, though later in the same work (ll. 901–906) they are said to have been of Zeus and Themis.

## Dispute of origin

In the ancient Greek poem, The Shield of Heracles, Atropos is referred to as the oldest and smallest of the three fates. This description is uncommon among references to Atropos. It is uncommon in ancient mentions of her in more ways than one as it turns out, including this fate's moniker. Plato may be behind the creation of Atropos as many of the early descriptions of the fates have Aisa as the name of this third fate, although there is still no clear consensus. The inconsistent nature of these accounts make it difficult to know for sure whether or not Aisa or Atropos is the best name to use when talking about the third fate, but evidence seems to point to Aisa being the more commonly used name earlier on, with Atropos gaining popularity later.

## Namesake

* Atropine, a tropane alkaloid and anticholinergic medication
* 273 Atropos, a main-belt asteroid.
* The scientific name of a venomous snake, Bitis atropos, refers to Atropos.
* The African Death's-head hawkmoth, Acherontia atropos, also has a species name which references Atropos.
The genus of the deadly nightshade, Atropa belladonna, was named after Atropos by Carolus Linnaeus because of the plant's poisonous properties.