page_title: Moirai
section_title: The three Moirai
hierarchical_section_title: Moirai / The three Moirai
context_page_description: In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Moirai, often known in English as the Fates, were the incarnations of destiny; their Roman equivalent was the Parcae, and there are other equivalents in cultures that descend from the Proto-Indo-European culture. Their number became fixed at three: Clotho, Lachesis and Atropos.
  They controlled the mother thread of life of every mortal from birth to death. They were independent, at the helm of necessity, directed fate, and watched that the fate assigned to every being by eternal laws might take its course without obstruction. Both gods and men had to submit to them, although Zeus's relationship with them is a matter of debate: some sources say he can command them, while others suggest he was also bound to the Moirai's dictates.
  In the Homeric poems Moira or Aisa are related to the limit and end of life, and Zeus appears as the guider of destiny. In the Theogony of Hesiod, the three Moirai are personified, daughters of Nyx and are acting over the gods. Later they are daughters of Zeus and Themis, who was the embodiment of divine order and law. In Plato's Republic the Three Fates are daughters of Ananke.
context_section_description: When they were three, the Moirai were:
  Clotho (/ˈkloʊθoʊ/, Greek Κλωθώ, [klɔːtʰɔ̌ː], "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 (/ˈlækɪsɪs/, Greek Λάχεσις, [lákʰesis], "allotter" or drawer of lots) measured the thread of life allotted to each person with her measuring rod.  Her Roman equivalent was Decima ("the Tenth").
  Atropos (/ˈætrəpɒs/, Greek Ἄτροπος, [átropos], "inexorable" or "inevitable", literally "unturning", sometimes called Aisa) was the cutter of the thread of life.  She chose the manner of each person's death; and when their time was come, she cut their life-thread with "her abhorred shears". Her Roman equivalent was Morta ("the dead one").
  In the Republic of Plato, the three Moirai sing in unison with the music of the Seirenes. Lachesis sings the things that were, Clotho the things that are, and Atropos the things that are to be. Pindar in his Hymn to the Fates, holds them in high honour. He calls them to send their sisters, the Hours Eunomia ("lawfulness"), Dike ("right"), and Eirene ("peace"), to stop the internal civil strife:
  Listen Fates, who sit nearest of gods to the throne of Zeus,
  
  and weave with shuttles of adamant,
  
  inescapable devices for councels of every kind beyond counting,
  Aisa, Clotho and Lachesis,
  
  fine-armed daughters of Night,
  
  hearken to our prayers, all-terrible goddesses,
  
  of sky and earth.
  
  Send us rose-bosomed Lawfulness,
  
  and her sisters on glittering thrones,
  
  Right and crowned Peace, and make this city forget the misfortunes which lie heavily on her heart.
caption: The Three Fates by Paul Thumann, 19th century
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