Fates

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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. [1] 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. [2]

Contents

The Fates controlling the thread of life with their tools. Elihu Vedder - The Fates Gathering in the Stars - 1919.1 - Art Institute of Chicago.jpg
The Fates controlling the thread of life with their tools.

Individual roles

The Moirai, meaning "allotted portion" or "share", separated each sister into a different role in order to handle the fates of humans. The Fates were expected to appear within three days of a mortal's birth. [3] Clotho was the first of the three, known as "the spinner" because she wove the threads of human life while in the womb. [4] This act is used to represent her divine duty, also incorporating pregnancies or birth when referring to her. The second Fate, Lachesis, is known as "the Allotter" or "the Receiver" [5] , given the fact that her responsibility includes determining how much mortal life is assigned to the soul of each individual. [6] This, in turn, determines the number of tribulations that individual is predestined to face. The final Fate, Atropos, is known as the most stubborn sister of the three, given the nickname "the un-turnable" or "the Inevitable" [5] . [7] Atropos is expected to cut off the thread of life, completing the cycle and determining when a human will die. She is typically seen hand in hand with death and the Underworld. Once Atropos cuts the thread, each soul is sent to the Underworld where they receive judgement and are sent to one of three options: Elysium, the Fields of Punishment, or the Fields of Asphodel. [8]

Elysium is labeled a land for the blessed, whereas those who committed horrible deeds were sent to the Fields of Punishment. The mortals who lived neither an objectively good or bad life were sent to the Fields of Asphodel. [9]

In mythology

The Fates have appeared in numerous cultures with similar tales. In Greek mythology, they appear as incarnations of destiny named the Moirai. [10] [11] [12] [13] The Roman counterparts of the Moirai are known as the Parcae. [14] This trio also makes a name in Slavic culture as the Rozhanitsy, [15] figures who foretell an individual's destiny. Similar to Greek mythology, the Fates are known as incarnations of destiny called Norns [16] [17] in Norse mythology. The biggest variant within these cultures remains in Baltic mythology, which characterizes the Deivės Valdytojos [18] as seven sisters who weave pieces of clothing from the lives of humans.

Indo-European Origin

Fates
Nornorna vid Urdarbrunnen.jpg
Norns in Norse mythology are one descendant group
Equivalents
Greek equivalent Moirai
Norse equivalent Norns
Hinduism equivalent Tridevi?
Hittite equivalent Gulses
Lithuanian equivalent Deives Valdytojos
English equivalent Wyrds
Albanian equivalent Fatia

The Fates are three Proto-Indo-European fate goddesses. Their names have not been reconstructed, but such a group is highly attested in descendant groups. Such goddesses spun the destinies of mankind [19] .

Although such fate goddesses are not directly attested in the Indo-Aryan tradition, the Atharvaveda does contain an allusion comparing fate to a warp. Furthermore, the three Fates appear in nearly every other Indo-European mythology. The earliest attested set of fate goddesses are the Gulses in Hittite mythology, who were said to preside over the individual destinies of human beings. They often appear in mythical narratives alongside the goddesses Papaya and Istustaya, who, in a ritual text for the foundation of a new temple, are described sitting holding mirrors and spindles, spinning the king's thread of life. [20] In the Greek tradition, the Moirai ("Apportioners") are mentioned dispensing destiny in both the Iliad and the Odyssey, in which they are given the epithet Κλῶθες (Klothes, meaning "Spinners"). [21] [22]

In Hesiod's Theogony, the Moirai are said to "give mortal men both good and ill" and their names are listed as Klotho ("Spinner"), Lachesis ("Apportioner"), and Atropos ("Inflexible"). [23] [24] Hesiod also describes the fates as being the daughters of the night [5] . In his Republic , Plato records that Klotho sings of the past, Lachesis of the present, and Atropos of the future. [25] In Roman legend, the Parcae were three goddesses who presided over the births of children and whose names were Nona ("Ninth"), Decuma ("Tenth"), and Morta ("Death"). They too were said to spin destinies, although this may have been due to influence from Greek literature. [24]

Late second-century AD Greek mosaic from the House of Theseus at Paphos Archaeological Park on Cyprusshowing the three Moirai: Klotho, Lachesis, and Atropos, standing behind Peleus and Thetis, the parents of Achilles. Paphos Haus des Theseus - Mosaik Achilles 3 Moiren.jpg
Late second-century AD Greek mosaic from the House of Theseus at Paphos Archaeological Park on Cyprus showing the three Moirai: Klotho, Lachesis, and Atropos, standing behind Peleus and Thetis, the parents of Achilles.

In the Old Norse Völuspá and Gylfaginning , the Norns are three cosmic goddesses of fate who are described sitting by the well of Urðr at the foot of the world tree Yggdrasil. [26] [27] [note 1] In Old Norse texts, the Norns are frequently conflated with Valkyries, who are sometimes also described as spinning. [27] Old English texts, such as Rhyme Poem 70, and Guthlac 1350 f., reference Wyrd as a singular power that "weaves" destinies. [28]

Later texts mention the Wyrds as a group, with Geoffrey Chaucer referring to them as "the Werdys that we clepyn Destiné" in The Legend of Good Women . [29] [25] [note 2] A goddess spinning appears in a bracteate from southwest Germany and a relief from Trier shows three mother goddesses, with two of them holding distaffs. Tenth-century German ecclesiastical writings denounce the popular belief in three sisters who determined the course of a man's life at his birth. [25] An Old Irish hymn attests to seven goddesses who were believed to weave the thread of destiny, which demonstrates that these spinster fate-goddesses were present in Celtic mythology as well. [30]

A Lithuanian folktale recorded in 1839 recounts that a man's fate is spun at his birth by seven goddesses known as the deivės valdytojos and used to hang a star in the sky; when he dies, his thread snaps and his star falls as a meteor. In Latvian folk songs, a goddess called the Láima is described as weaving a child's fate at its birth. Although she is usually only one goddess, the Láima sometimes appears as three. [30] The three spinning fate goddesses appear in Slavic traditions in the forms of the Russian Rožanicy, the Czech and Slovak Sudičky, the Bulgarian Narenčnice or Urisnice, the Polish Rodzanice, the Croatian Rodjenice, the Serbian Sudjenice, and the Slovene Rojenice. [31] Albanian folk tales speak of the Fatit, three old women who appear three days after a child is born and determine its fate, using language reminiscent of spinning. [32]

In the visual arts

A depiction of the Fates, specifically Atropos, exercising her power on a captive man. Atropos o Las Parcas.jpg
A depiction of the Fates, specifically Atropos, exercising her power on a captive man.

Considering the roles of each divine sister, Clotho is typically portrayed as a younger woman because of her relationship with the birth of humans, whereas Atropos is pictured as an old woman because of her hand in the death of mortals. [33] Each sister has been pictured with a tangible representation of their power: Clotho with thread, Lachesis with an eye glass, and Atropos with scissors. [34] The Fates make a specific appearance within the artwork of Francisco de Goya's black paintings. These were a series of 14 pieces completed by the artist nearing the later stages of his life. Their dark tone, literally and figuratively, capture the Fates holding an individual hostage as they are deciding his destiny. [35]

Sculptor, Louis François Roubiliac portrays through his art how the Fates represent vitality and the celebration of life. A famous creation of Roubiliac was a sculpture he created to commemorate the life of the late Mary Churchill, the Second Duchess of Montagu. Roubiliac sculpted the Three Fates surrounded by children and flowers, to represent the importance of the Fates at the start of life as well. [36] The Moirai are also depicted on the François Vase whose creation dates back to 570 BCE. The François Vase was created by Kleitias and Ergotimos. On the surface of the vase are depictions of many ancient Greek deities including the Moirai. While each of the Moirai appear differently on the vase, they are established under one name, which demonstrates their unity. [37]

More recently, Anne-Katrin Altwein depicted the divine sisters through sculptures that originally resided in the entrance of a German hospital as a means of creative inspiration to patients. [38] Altwein sculpted Clotho as a pregnant woman as opposed to simply holding the thread of life in order to present her in a more positive light. [39] The sculptures have since been moved to the city center of Jena, also home to the same hospital. [40]

The three fates, Clotho, Lachesis and Atropos, who spin, draw out and cut the thread of life. (Flemish tapestry, Victoria and Albert Museum, London The Triumph of Death, or The Three Fates.jpg
The three fates, Clotho, Lachesis and Atropos, who spin, draw out and cut the thread of life. (Flemish tapestry, Victoria and Albert Museum, London

In fiction

This motif has been replicated in fictional accounts, such as:

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ The names of the individual Norns are given as Urðr ("Happened"), Verðandi ("Happening"), and Skuld ("Due"), [25] but M. L. West notes that these names may be the result of classical influence from Plato. [25]
  2. ↑ They also, most famously, appear as the Three Witches in William Shakespeare's Macbeth (c. 1606). [25]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norns</span> Group of deities in Norse mythology

The Norns are deities in Norse mythology responsible for shaping the course of human destinies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moirai</span> Personifications of fate in Greek mythology

In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Moirai often known in English as the Fates—were the personifications of destiny. They were three sisters: Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos. Their Roman equivalent is the Parcae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clotho</span> One of the Fates of Greek Mythology

Clotho or Klotho, is a mythological figure. She is the youngest goddess of the Three Fates or Moirai. In ancient Greek mythology, she spins the thread of human life, her sisters draw out (Lachesis) and cut (Atropos) the thread. Her Roman equivalent is Nona. She also made major decisions, such as when a person was born, thus in effect controlling people's lives. This power enabled her not only to choose who was born, but also to decide when deities or mortals were to be saved or put to death. For example, Clotho resurrected Pelops when his father killed him.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atropos</span> One of the Fates of Greek mythology

Atropos, in Greek mythology, was one of the three Moirai, goddesses of fate and destiny. Her Roman equivalent was Morta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Althaea (mythology)</span> Character in Greek mythology

Althaea or Althea was the queen of Calydon in Greek mythology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parcae</span> Fates in Roman mythology

In ancient Roman religion and myth, the Parcae were the female personifications of destiny who directed the lives of humans and gods. They are often called the Fates in English, and their Greek equivalent were the Moirai. They did not control a person's actions except when they are born, when they die, and how much they suffer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wyrd</span> Anglo-Saxon concept of personal fate or destiny

Wyrd is a concept in Anglo-Saxon culture roughly corresponding to fate or personal destiny. The word is ancestral to Modern English weird, whose meaning has drifted towards an adjectival use with a more general sense of "supernatural" or "uncanny", or simply "unexpected".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ananke</span> Ancient Greek goddess of necessity

In ancient Greek religion, Ananke, from the common noun ἀνάγκη, is the Orphic personification of inevitability, compulsion and necessity. She is customarily depicted as holding a spindle. One of the Greek primordial deities, the births of Ananke and her brother and consort, Chronos, were thought to mark the division between the eon of Chaos and the beginning of the cosmos. Ananke is considered the most powerful dictator of fate and circumstance. Mortals and gods alike respected her power and paid her homage. Sometimes considered the mother of the Fates, she is thought to be the only being to influence their decisions. According to Daniel Schowalter and Steven Friesen, she and the Fates "are all sufficiently tied to early Greek mythology to make their Greek origins likely."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lachesis</span> One of the Fates of Greek Mythology

Lachesis, in ancient Greek religion, was the middle of the Three Fates, or Moirai; the others were her sisters, Clotho and Atropos. Normally seen clothed in white, Lachesis is the measurer of the thread spun on Clotho's spindle, and in some texts, determines Destiny, or thread of life. Her Roman equivalent was Decima. Lachesis was the apportioner, deciding how much time for life was to be allowed for each person or being. She measured the thread of life with her rod. She is also said to choose a person's destiny after a thread was measured. In mythology, it is said that she appears with her sisters within three days of a baby's birth to decide the baby's fate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nona (mythology)</span>

Nona was one of the Parcae, the three personifications of destiny in Roman mythology, and the Roman goddess of pregnancy. The Roman equivalent of the Greek Clotho, she spun the thread of life from her distaff onto her spindle. Nona, whose name means "ninth", was called upon by pregnant women in their ninth month when the child was due to be born.

<i>With a Tangled Skein</i>

With a Tangled Skein is a fantasy novel by Piers Anthony. It is the third of eight books in the Incarnations of Immortality series. In it, Niobe agrees to become one of the three aspects of the incarnation of Fate, in an attempt to thwart the plans of Satan.

A triad, in a religious context, refers to a grouping of three gods, usually by importance or similar roles. A triad of gods were usually not considered to be one in the same being, or different aspects of a single deity as in a Trinity or Triple deity.

Time and fate deities are personifications of time, often in the sense of human lifetime and human fate, in polytheistic religions. In monotheism, Time can still be personified, like Father Time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Decima (mythology)</span>

Decima was one of the three Parcae in Roman mythology. The Parcae goddess Nona was responsible for pregnancy; Decima was responsible for birth; and Morta was charged with overseeing death. They distributed to mankind all the good and bad things in life, and according to some classical writings even Jupiter had to bend to their will. Decima measured the thread of life with her rod, like her Greek equivalent Lachesis. In some accounts, her mother was Nox the goddess of night and her father was Erebus the god of darkness; while in other accounts, her parents were Jupiter and Themis.

<i>Atropos</i> (Goya) Painting by Francisco de Goya

Atropos, or The Fates is one of the 14 Black Paintings painted by Francisco de Goya between 1819–1823. Goya, then 75 and in mental and physical despair, created the series directly onto the interior walls of the house known as the Quinta del Sordo, purchased in 1819.

<i>Missa Atropos</i> 2010 studio album by Gazpacho

Missa Atropos is the sixth studio album by Norwegian rock band Gazpacho. It was released in Norway on 15 September 2010 by HWT Records and worldwide on 22 March 2011 by Kscope.

Heimarmene or Himarmene is a goddess and being of fate/destiny in Greek mythology. She belongs to a family of similar beings of destiny and fate, which have given us various modern concepts.

The Ora is an Albanian mythological figure that every human possesses from birth, associated with human destiny and fate. The essential function of the ora is to maintain the order of the universe and to enforce its laws.

Rozhanitsy, narecnitsy, and sudzhenitsy are invisible spirits or deities of fate in the pre-Christian religion of the Slavs. They are related to pregnancy, motherhood, marriage and female ancestors, and are often referenced together with Rod. They are usually mentioned as three together, but sometimes up to 9 together, of whom one was a "queen" or singular. They are related to Dola, but it is not known on what terms. In Poland they were worshipped as zorze (auroras).

Anne-Katrin Altwein was a German sculptor, graphic artist and author.

References

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  2. ↑ "Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome". www.gutenberg.org. Retrieved 2022-11-29.
  3. ↑ Lichtenauer, Michael; Altwein, Anne-Katrin; Kopp, Kristen; Salmhofer, Hermann (2020). "Uncoupling fate: Klotho—Goddess of fate and regulator of life and ageing". Australasian Journal on Ageing. 39 (2): 161–163. doi:10.1111/ajag.12772. ISSN   1440-6381. PMC   7496967 . PMID   32686906.
  4. ↑ "The Fates in Greek Mythology: Hanging by a Thread". TheCollector. 2022-05-31. Retrieved 2022-11-29.
  5. 1 2 3 Editor, T. (October 1900). "ON GREEK RELIGION AND MYTHOLOGY.: THE DAUGHTERS OF ZEUS. THE BIRTH OF ATHENA AND THE THREE FATES. HERA, THE WIFE OF ZEUS, AND HER CHILDREN. APOLLO AND ARTEMIS. DIONYSOS". The Open Court, A Quarterly Magazine [Devoted to the Science of Religion, the Religion of Science, and the Extension of the Religious Parliament Idea.{{cite journal}}: |last= has generic name (help)
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  7. ↑ "The Fates in Greek Mythology: Hanging by a Thread". TheCollector. 2022-05-31. Retrieved 2022-11-29.
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  9. ↑ "The Fates in Greek Mythology: Hanging by a Thread". TheCollector. 2022-05-31. Retrieved 2022-11-29.
  10. ↑ Homer (1965–1967). The Iliad : with an English translation. W. Heinemann. OCLC   221448332.
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  14. ↑ Day, John (1988). God's conflict with the dragon and the sea : echoes of a Canaanite myth in the Old Testament. Cambridge University Press. ISBN   0521256003. OCLC   1056600192.
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  18. ↑ Klimka, Libertas (2012-03-01). "Senosios baltų mitologijos ir religijos likimas". Lituanistica. 58 (1). doi:10.6001/lituanistica.v58i1.2293. ISSN   0235-716X.
  19. ↑ West 2007, pp. 380–385.
  20. ↑ West 2007, p. 380.
  21. ↑ Iliad 20.127, 24.209; Odyssey 7.197
  22. ↑ West 2007, pp. 380–381.
  23. ↑ Hesiod, Theogony , lines 904–906
  24. 1 2 West 2007, p. 381.
  25. 1 2 3 4 5 6 West 2007, p. 383.
  26. ↑ Völuspá 20; Gylfaginning 15
  27. 1 2 West 2007, p. 382.
  28. ↑ West 2007, pp. 382–383.
  29. ↑ Geoffrey Chaucer, The Legend of Good Women, Hypermnestra 19
  30. 1 2 West 2007, p. 384.
  31. ↑ West 2007, pp. 384–385.
  32. ↑ West 2007, p. 385.
  33. ↑ "The Fates in Greek Mythology: Hanging by a Thread". TheCollector. 2022-05-31. Retrieved 2022-11-29.
  34. ↑ Lichtenauer, Michael; Altwein, Anne-Katrin; Kopp, Kristen; Salmhofer, Hermann (2020). "Uncoupling fate: Klotho—Goddess of fate and regulator of life and ageing". Australasian Journal on Ageing. 39 (2): 161–163. doi:10.1111/ajag.12772. ISSN   1440-6381. PMC   7496967 . PMID   32686906.
  35. ↑ Lichtenauer, Michael; Altwein, Anne-Katrin; Kopp, Kristen; Salmhofer, Hermann (2020). "Uncoupling fate: Klotho—Goddess of fate and regulator of life and ageing". Australasian Journal on Ageing. 39 (2): 161–163. doi:10.1111/ajag.12772. ISSN   1440-6381. PMC   7496967 . PMID   32686906.
  36. ↑ Murdoch, Tessa (2015), Dethloff, Diana; Murdoch, Tessa; Sloan, Kim; Elam, Caroline (eds.), "Spinning the Thread of Life: The Three Fates, Time and Eternity", Burning Bright, Essays in Honour of David Bindman, UCL Press, pp. 47–54, ISBN   978-1-910634-18-9, JSTOR   j.ctt1g69z6q.8 , retrieved 2024-03-04
  37. ↑ Toillon (2019-10-26). "Three Women Sharing a Mantle in 6th Century BCE Greek Vase-Painting: Plurality, Unity, Family, and Social Bond". Arts. 8 (4): 144. doi: 10.3390/arts8040144 . ISSN   2076-0752.
  38. ↑ Lichtenauer, Michael; Altwein, Anne-Katrin; Kopp, Kristen; Salmhofer, Hermann (2020). "Uncoupling fate: Klotho—Goddess of fate and regulator of life and ageing". Australasian Journal on Ageing. 39 (2): 161–163. doi:10.1111/ajag.12772. ISSN   1440-6381. PMC   7496967 . PMID   32686906.
  39. ↑ Lichtenauer, Michael; Altwein, Anne-Katrin; Kopp, Kristen; Salmhofer, Hermann (2020). "Uncoupling fate: Klotho—Goddess of fate and regulator of life and ageing". Australasian Journal on Ageing. 39 (2): 161–163. doi:10.1111/ajag.12772. ISSN   1440-6381. PMC   7496967 . PMID   32686906.
  40. ↑ Lichtenauer, Michael; Altwein, Anne-Katrin; Kopp, Kristen; Salmhofer, Hermann (2020). "Uncoupling fate: Klotho—Goddess of fate and regulator of life and ageing". Australasian Journal on Ageing. 39 (2): 161–163. doi:10.1111/ajag.12772. ISSN   1440-6381. PMC   7496967 . PMID   32686906.
  41. ↑ Shakespeare, William (1623-01-01), "Macbeth", in Brooke, Nicholas (ed.), The Oxford Shakespeare: The Tragedy of Macbeth, Oxford University Press, pp. 91–92, doi:10.1093/oseo/instance.00000007, ISBN   9780198129011
  42. ↑ Ginsberg, Allen (2006). Howl. Museum of American Poetics Publications. OCLC   666904326.
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Bibliography

West, Martin L. (2007). Indo-European Poetry and Myth. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-0-19-928075-9.

External References

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