Introduction
A triad, according to the Encyclopedia, is a group or a set of three persons, things, or attributes, and is found in many divine concepts. As triads are in an uneven number of three, they have been considered to be the perfect expressions of unity and proportion, corresponding to a threefold division in nature (Encyclopedia).
There are many notable triads in Greek Mythology, both gods and goddesses, as even Zeus has been mentioned to be in a few triads, all involving different relationships that depend on the context of the myths. However, he’s not the focal point here as he has enough of a fanbase.
In this entry, I will give a crash course into one of Greek’s most fascinating and powerful triads, The Fates, also known as the Moirai. What we will be exploring:
Origins of the Moirai-Who they were, and their individual in Greek Mythology.
Their Genealogy(i): Of Nyx
Their Genealogy(ii): Their relationship with Zeus
Their Collective Impact on Greek Mythology– An event in antiquity that had their involvement.
Misrepresentations between the Moirai and other Triads (goddesses)
Conclusion
Bibliography
By the end of this article, I hope to have successfully done the goddesses justice and to have given you, the reader, a general understanding of just how important they were in the world of Greek Mythology.
Origins of the Moirai
The word Moira, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, is defined as ‘individual destiny’ and in The Free Dictionary, ‘the destiny or predestination of a person.’ The plural form, Moirai or Moirae, is the personification of fate and destiny. These goddesses, described as sisters, were responsible for controlling the destinies of mortals and immortals alike. Their story is filled with intrigue, drama, and mystery, with them being so powerful that even other gods couldn’t escape their destinies.
The three Fates, Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos share tasks between them to keep the peace and stability of the universe in Greek mythology.
Clotho
Clotho, depicted as the youngest of the triad, was responsible for weaving the thread of life. Hesiod describes her as the youngest of the triad. The goddess’ epithet was the Spinner and has been used to describe her for centuries. The epithet might have been used by Ancient Greeks themselves as a way to describe her role in controlling the threads of life or might have been introduced later by poets and scholars who sought to further clarify her role in mythology. Some works of art and literature depict Clotho using a spindle to weave the indestructible thread that determined the life and destiny of mankind.
In Pindar’s “Pythian Ode 9”, Clotho is a “child of night” who “spins the thread of life”, therefore highlighting her connection to the larger forces of the universe. Clotho was an agent of cosmic order; with her task of weaving the thread being essential to keeping the balance of the universe.
Clotho is not only known for her powers as one of The Fates, but also as a wise and just being. In the Orphic Hymns, she is described as “you who knows all things and arranges all things in order” (l. 38). She was also associated with the concept of time as the thread they spun represented the duration of a life. The thread of life that Clotho spun represented the concept of time in Greek mythology. The length of the thread represented the length of a person’s life, which was predetermined by the Moirai. In this way, Clotho’s role as the spinner of the thread of life was intricately tied to the concept of time and the duration of an individual’s life (Graves, 1992).
Her actions are tied to her two other sisters in the triad, as after spinning the thread, it was then handed to Lachesis and then Atropos.
Lachesis
Lachesis was responsible for the second step in the process of weaving and threading a life. Hesiod describes Lachesis as being in the middle of the triad and as middle-aged. She was responsible for measuring the length of the thread of life, defining the quotas of happiness and misfortune. Her epithet was the Apportioner, which by the Free Dictionary, means to distribute or allocate proportionally; divide or assign. This is not to be confused with a portion, which means any part of any whole; segment, or section.
While Hesiod does not explicitly state Lachesis’ role as the apportioner, he does mention that the Fates “give to men at birth evil and good to have” (l. 904), therefore implying that they have some role in distributing fate.
Furthermore, some scholars have interpreted the term “Lachesis” itself as indicating an apportioning of some sort. The word “Lachesis” comes from the Greek verb “lachan” which means “to obtain by lot,” therefore leading some to speculate that Lachesis was responsible for assigning fates to individuals by drawing lots.
Lachesis is also depicted as a just and wise figure by Plato, who describes her as “one who orders the destiny of all things in their due measure” (Pl., Rep., Book x, 617a).
Atropos
Atropos was the last member of the triad and was responsible for cutting the thread of life. In Hesiod’s Theogony, the goddess was depicted as the oldest and most feared and was described as “the one who, with other abandoned shears, ends the thread of life”(Hes., Theog., ll.907-908).
Atropos was often associated with death and endings and therefore had been mentioned with other gods relating to death like Thanatos and Hades in Homer’s Iliad (Homer, Book xvi, ll. 849-850), and also with the goddesses Nemesis and Eris(Talbert,2004, pg. 63-64), simply for the reason that they are all associated with death and/or finality. In Homer’s “Hymn to Aphrodite“, she is described as “she who puts an end to all things and is the most hateful to mortals” (Homer, ll. 56-57). which tells us that she carries out her duties with finality. According to some versions of the myth, Atropos is said to be the one that determines when one dies, while in others, she would only carry out the tasks assigned to her by her sisters. She is also the only one out of the triad who had an actual tool – her shears- unlike the other sisters whose tools were conjured from their epithets.
Genealogies
The Moirai’s genealogies are very diverse, with a few descriptions of who they had been born from. In Hesiod’s Theogony, they are the children born independently from the goddess of night Nyx [(Hesiod Theogony 217), (Aeschylus Eumenides 961), (Greek Lyric V) (Anon 1018), (Orphic Hymn 59)] and in other versions, they are the offspring of Zeus, the chief deity of the pantheon and Themis (Apollodorus 1.13), the goddess of justice, or of Erebus, the god of darkness and Nyx, of Kronos, the god of time and Nyx (Tzetzes ad Lycophron), among others.
As you can see, the personified attributes of the Moirai are in tune with some of the characters of the gods and goddesses, whose roles were briefly described above. However, I will be discussing the two of the most told genealogies, those of Nyx, which is one of the most told retellings, and of Zeus and Themis because Zeus and the Moirai were more than father and daughter.
Nyx
As explained already, the Moirai’s origins differ, however, I have chosen Nyx to discuss more because I believe the goddess of Night, Nyx, can help personify the Moirai and their roles.
One of the most frequent retellings of the Moirai is that they were born independently from Nyx, who personified the night. According to Hesiod’s poem, Nyx was depicted as the mother of the Moirai:
“And Night bore hateful Doom and black Fate and Death, and she bore Sleep and the tribe of Dreams. And again the goddess murky Night, though she lay with none, bare Blame and painful Woe, and the Hesperides who guard the rich, golden apples and the trees bearing fruit beyond glorious Ocean. Also she bore the Destinies and ruthless avenging Fates, Clotho and Lachesis and Atropos, who give men at their birth both evil and good to have, and they pursue the transgressions of men and of gods: and these goddesses never cease from their dread anger until they punish the sinner with a sore penalty.”
(Hes., Theog., ll. 211-222)
The Moirai being born independently to the goddess was not unusual in Greek Mythology. Take Aphrodite. One of the most well-known births of Aphrodite is from Hesiod’s Theogony where Aphrodite was born from the foam of the sea after the god Uranus had been castrated and his severed genitals were thrown in the ocean(Hes., Theog., ll.190-200). However intriguing that story is, this just serves as an example. Aphrodite also has her own fanbase.
So, why was Nyx depicted as their mother? As said earlier, Nyx was the goddess of night, and the Morai’s powers were also attributed to the night/darkness as said in David Lemming’s “Oxford Companion to World Mythology,” as he notes that the Moirai were archetypal figures who represent the laws of destiny and the inevitability of death.
The birth of the Moirai from Nyx was believed to be a significant part of their identity, and why it is one of the most popular origins of birth because I believe that just as inescapable the night is, the same your fate.
Zeus’ Relationship with the Moirai
Yes, we’re back to Zeus but we will, again, briefly explore him a little bit as it heavily relates to the development of the Moirai.
It is common knowledge that Zeus is one of the most powerful gods in Greek Mythology, known as the chief pantheon and the sender of thunder, a weather god. With that said, the Moirai were believed to have been born from him and the Titan goddess of Divine Law and Order. Themis was one of the twelve divine children of Gaia and Uranus and Zeus’ second wife, as said in one of his poems:
“Next he married bright Themis who bore the Horae (Hours), and Eunomia (Order), Dikë (Justice), and blooming Eirene (Peace), who mind the works of mortal men, and the Moerae (Fates) to whom wise Zeus gave the greatest honor, Clotho, and Lachesis, and Atropos who give mortal men evil and good to have.”
(Hes., Theog., ll. 900-906)
Below is how Zeus, in Aeschylus’ “Prometheus Bound,” the play depicts one of Zeus’ interactions with the Moirai:
(Aesch., “PB.,” ll. 515-521)Chorus
Who then is the helmsman of Necessity?Prometheus
The three-shaped Fates and mindful Furies.Chorus
Can it be that Zeus has less power than they do?Prometheus
Yes, in that even he cannot escape what is foretold.Chorus
Why, what is fated for Zeus except to hold eternal sway?Prometheus
This you must not learn yet; do not be over-eager.Chorus
It is some solemn secret, surely, that you enshroud in mystery.
This is a dialogue between Okeanides and Chorus, which just goes to show that although he may be the chief pantheon, he also cannot escape his fate. However, in Robert Graves’ “The Greek Myths”:
“Zeus, who weighs the lives of men and informs the Fates of his decisions can, it is said, change his mind and intervene to save whom he pleases, when the thread of life, spun on Clotho’s spindle, and measured by the rod of Lachesis, is about to be snipped by Atropos’s shears. Indeed, men claim that they themselves can, to some degree, control their own fates by avoiding unnecessary dangers.”
(Graves, 2011, pg. 52-53)
This text suggests that at the request of Zeus, the Moirai may elongate or shortens a lifespan, which made me wonder: was it a fifty-fifty situation? Would there have been times when the Moirai would have said no to his requests? What would Zeus have done about it? Were there compromises?
Thus, the intricate relationship between Zeus and the Moirai. There is no clear consensus as to who was exactly in charge or who had more power, however, there aren’t any claims that suggest that the Morai didn’t have the ultimate power. Take Herodotus’ “The Histories” for example:
(Hdt., The Histories, l. 1.91)“When the Lydians came, and spoke as they had been instructed,
the priestess (it is said) made the following reply. “No one may escape his lot,
not even a god. Croesus has paid for the sin of his ancestor of the fifth
generation before, who was led by the guile of a woman to
kill his master, though he was one of the guards of the Heraclidae,
and who took to himself the royal state of that master, to which he
had no right. And it was the wish of Loxias that the evil lot
of Sardis fall in the lifetime of Croesus’ sons, not in his own; but he could not deflect the Fates.
So, let’s take a step back. This is a lot of information to take in at once, especially since one might not have gone down the rabbit hole of research. There are also a lot of contradictions so, let’s think about it this way. What if it wasn’t a “power struggle?” Could it also have been possible for the Moirai to legitimize Zeus’ power? Could they have worked together in some cases?
To conclude, it is clear that Zeus wants a balance of power in the universe. In Hesiod’s Theogony, where the three brothers Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades divide the universe after they had defeated Cronus, their father:
“…Zeus, the Cloud-gatherer, took the wide sky in his arms, Poseidon, the earth-encircler, received the sea, and Hades, lord of the underworld, the house of the dead. But Zeus the Father spoke, and thus declared their fate: ‘Hermes shall be yours, dear Maia, to be your joy and comfort, and shall herald all our will to immortal gods and mortal men, and bear the golden rod that will work wonders, and he shall have power over all the living and the dead.”
(Hes., Theog.,ll. 454-62)
This quote goes to show that no matter your feelings on who runs the show, the Moirai played an important role in whatever issue related to keeping the balance of the powers in the universe and in the universe as a whole, which leads the roles they have played in Greek Mythology.
Their Connections to Greek Mythology
After all that has been said, although repetitively, I will still continue to say that the Moirai continue to play an important part in keeping the balance in the universe. Some are depicted in the Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite, where the goddess seeks out the Moirai and pleads for them to help her win Adonis’ love (ll.61-67). This, in my opinion, suggests that they were, at least, high enough in the mythological hierarchy. However, we will explore an event in Greek mythology where their influence, however minute, had an influential cause in that era and gave people a taste of their power. In this story, mankind tried to avoid the inevitable. This is the story of Meleager.
The Story of Meleager
Meleager was a hero featured in Ovid’s Metamorphoses chapter 8. He was the son of Oeneus, the king of Calydon and Althaea, daughter of King Thestius, king of the Pleuronians, the wife of Oeneus and the queen of Calydon. He was known and celebrated as a hero for playing a major role in the Calydonian Boar Hunt.
At Meleager’s birth, the Moirai visited his mother, Althaea, and predicted that Meleager would only live until a piece of wood was consumed wholly by fire. Althaea, fearing for her child’s life, immediately took the log out of the fire and hid it away.
“When Meleager, the child of Althaea, who was daughter of Thestius, king of Aetolia, and wife to Oeneus of Calydon, was a week old, the Fates appeared to the mother and declared that he would die when the brand on the hearth was consumed. Whereupon Althaea took the brand and put it in a chest; but when Meleager, grown to youthful manhood, slew her brothers, she threw it into the fire, and her son died suddenly.”
(Aesch. Lib. 602) a brief summary of his story
Despite the prophecy, Meleager grew up as a brave and skilled warrior. He soon had to prove himself when a boar started terrorizing Calydon and this was because Meleager’s father had failed to honour the goddess of the hunt, Artemis. Why he did so was unknown however, Artemis did not take kindly to that, and sent the boar as punishment for neglecting her:
“But great Diana’s wrath was fiercer yet; She sent a savage boar of monstrous size, That through the corn and stubble made his way, And laid whole fields in ruin with his tusks, And wrought such havoc through the wide-spread land, As scarce a flame could equal.”
(Ov. Met., Book 8).
For the boar hunt, Meleager gathered other brave warriors around Greece to fight the boar. In addition to those warriors, Atalanta, a huntress was among them and Meleager had fallen in love with her, so much so that he gave her the hide of the boar he killed since she drew first blood.
Now, this is where things start to backfire. Meleager’s uncles did not like the fact that Atalanta had the hide and wanted it for themselves. They intended to get it back from her but unfortunately met their end at Meleager’s hands. When his mother heard what had happened, she grew furious at him, brought out the wood she hid so well and threw it into the fire, therefore causing Meleager to meet his own end, just as the Moirai had predicted. In Apollodorus’ books, one book says that Althaea and Meleager’s wife, Cleopatra, hung themselves (Apollodorus I.viii.3), while another says that Althaea stabbed herself due to regret with a dagger (Apollodorus I.viii.2). At the end of the day, Althaea, who had tried to avoid such an ending for her son had been the one to kill him.
Representations (and Misrepresentations)
After researching the great powers of the Moirai, it is no surprise that they have been portrayed in various cultures and religions. Therefore, it is only necessary to expand a little bit more on the diverse representations of the Moirai. While their roles as goddesses remain constant, their significance and appearances vary.
The Parcae
In Roman Mythology, the Moirai had another name, the Parcae. The Parcae were depicted as three old women who controlled the destiny of individuals, so their roles were similar to that of the Moirai. However, while the Moirai were inflexible, the Parcae were not. They were seen as benevolent beings, who could give favourable outcomes to those who show humility. (Ov., Met., Book 8, ll. 442-460).
The Norns
In Norse mythology, similar goddesses were called the Norns. The Norns, just like the Parcae and the Moirai, had the power to control the destinies of man. However, unlike the Parcae who were favourable and the Moirai who were impartial, the Norns were more active in shaping the lives of man that is, they were actively involved with mankind and could therefore be influenced by human actions (Volsunga Saga, Chapter 7).
Misrepresentations in Media
As I have said earlier, the Moirai aren’t the only triads and aren’t the only powerful triads out here. Had I chosen another triad to talk about, I would gush about them the same. This section serves more as a little note, a little correction if you will. This is between two powerful triads, the Moirai and the Graeae.
The Graeae
The Graeae are three ancient Greek goddesses who shared a single eye and tooth among them. They were the daughters of the sea gods Phorcys and Ceto and sisters of the Gorgons. In mythology, the Graeae were often depicted as old women who lived in remote locations and possessed magical powers.
“From Phorcys and Ceto, born of the sea, came the Graeae, gray from their very birth, with age-old locks of hair, and they had a single eye and a single tooth among them, and shared it in turn.”
(Hes., Theog., ll. 270-274)
One of the most well-known stories involving the Graeae is their encounter with the hero Perseus, who was seeking to slay the Gorgon Medusa. In Ovids Metamorphoses, the story of Perseus and Medusa, Perseus managed to steal the Graeae’s eye and tooth, using them as leverage to force the sisters to reveal the location of the nymphs who guarded the Gorgon’s lair. With this information, Perseus was able to successfully slay Medusa. (Ov., Met., ll. 735-752)
However fascinating they are, there has been a little misrepresentation. The Moirai and the Graeae have been misunderstood in media as thus:
In the video above, you can see that Hades is looking at a future predicted by the “Fates” However, the triad in this video share one eye with each other. The Moirai do not share an eye with each other. The triad in that video was the Graeae. Although the portrayal of the Moirai and the Graeae in Disney’s Hercules differs from the traditional Greek myths, it serves as an entertaining and engaging storyline for the movie and doesn’t make me love it any less.
Conclusion
The Moirai are no doubt one of the most powerful triads in Greek antiquity. I sincerely hope that I was able to take you through an enjoyable journey, and will say that I learnt new things writing this as well. I hope the reader understands, to some extent, how symbolic the Moirai are as a triad in Greek Mythology. It also goes to show that one cannot escape their destiny however hard one tries to. This does not mean that you have one exact path you have to follow in life, however, you cannot change your end. I say this to you with the little knowledge I have gained from researching this triad. I hope this gives you something to think about, be it from this article or by doing your own research.
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Women in Antiquity 