Three Sisters of Fate

## Description

An ancient Earth mythology from the area of Greece or known as a Greek Mythology that probably is only known on Earth.

## Story

The three sisters of fate were the personifications of destiny in ancient Greek Mythology. They were three sisters: Clotho (the spinner), Lachesis (the allotter), and Atropos (the inevitable, a metaphor for death). In Greek they were known as the Moirai (/ˈmɔɪraɪ, -riː/). Their Roman counterpart was known as the Parcae.

The Fates are a common motif in European polytheism, most frequently represented as a trio of goddesses. The Fates shape the destiny of each human, often expressed in textile metaphors such as spinning fibers into yarn, or weaving threads on a loom. The trio are generally conceived of as sisters and are often given the names Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos, which are the names of the Moirai, the version of the Fates who appear in Greek mythology. These divine figures are often artistically depicted as beautiful maidens with consideration to their serious responsibility: the life of mortals. Poets, on the other hand, typically express the Fates as ugly and unwavering, representing the gravity of their role within the mythological and human worlds.

* "Clotho", was the first of the three, known as "the spinner" because she wove the threads of human life while in the womb.
* "Lachesis", is known as "the Allotter", her responsibility includes determining how much mortal life is assigned to the soul of each individual.
* "Atropos", is known as the most stubborn sister of the three, given the nickname "the un-turnable". Atropos is expected to cut off the thread of life, completing the cycle and determining when a human will die.

## Pop Culture

The three sisters often show up in fantasy books and live action. The trope of three witches and the power of three derive from the three sisters known as the fates.

### Fiction

* Shakespeare's, the three witches in *Macbeth* and the fates in *The Merchant of Venice*.
* Multiple popular fantasy books.
	+ The Kindly Ones, characters in "The Sandman" series of comics written by Neil Gaiman.
	+ Characters in various books by Rick Riordan in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Heroes of Olympus and The Trials of Apollo series.
	+ The three aspects of Fate in *With a Tangled Skein* by Piers Anthony
	+ Lana Harvey, Reapers Inc. series by Angela Roquet
	+ Many, many more ...
* The TV/Movie/Fiction trope that someone is "fated" is a references to the three sisters, Lachesis in particular who sets such things at the time of birth.
* The Fates, characters in Disney's *Hercules*
* The Fates, minor characters in Netflix's adult animation *Blood of Zeus*.
* Both the Moirai, under the name "Sisters of Fate", and the Norns appear in the God of War video game series; the Sisters of Fate appear as antagonists in the Greek-based game God of War II (2007) while the Norns appear as minor characters in the Norse-based game, God of War Ragnarök (2022).
* The Fates, characters in Anaïs Mitchell's folk-ballad-turned-Broadway-musical Hadestown (2010, 2016, 2018).
* The Fates, primary antagonists of season five of the superhero television series *Legends of Tomorrow*.

and probably many more references in pop culture ...

### Astronomical objects

The asteroids (97) Klotho, (120) Lachesis, and (273) Atropos are named for the Three Fates.

## References

### Citations

1. ↑ Wikipedia:Fates
2. ↑ wikipedia:Moirai

### Bibliography

* Wikipedia:Fates
* wikipedia:Moirai
* *The Fourth Sister of Fate* (2023)