Fates

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.

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. ==In mythology== The Fates have appeared in numerous cultures with similar tales. In Greek mythology, they appear as incarnations of destiny named the Moirai. The Roman counterparts of the Moirai are known as the Parcae. In Albanian folk beliefs the Ora and Fatí are three fate goddesses, the weavers of destiny, who control the order of the universe and enforce its laws. In Albanian tradition, Ora is also regarded as a type of personal fate goddess who belongs to a single individual. The trio of Fates also appears in Slavic culture as the Rozhanitsy, figures who foretell an individual's destiny. Similar to Greek mythology, the Fates are known as incarnations of destiny called Norns in Norse mythology. The biggest variant within these cultures remains in Baltic mythology, which characterizes the Deivės Valdytojos as seven sisters who weave pieces of clothing from the lives of humans. ==In fiction== This motif has been replicated in fictional accounts, such as: The Three Witches, characters in Shakespeare's Macbeth In his poem "Howl", Allen Ginsberg laments the ravages of "the three old shrews of fate the one eyed shrew of the heterosexual dollar the one eyed shrew that winks out of the womb and the one eyed shrew that does nothing but sit on her ass and snip the intellectual golden threads of the craftsman's loom". Orddu, Orwen and Orgoch, characters in Lloyd Alexander's 1960s book series The Chronicles of Prydain. The Fates, characters in Disney's Hercules The Kindly Ones, characters in "The Sandman" series of comics written by Neil Gaiman The Fates/Moirai, characters in various books by Rick Riordan in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Heroes of Olympus and The Trials of Apollo series 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 The Fates/Moirai, referenced in Edward P. Willey's poem The Moirai as “the three withered maiden aunts”. The Fates appear in another Greek-based video game, Hades II as minor characters. ==References== == External links== The Warburg Institute Iconographic Database (images of the Fates)

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