I personally find the Moirai fascinating. You may be familiar with them from the movie Clash of the Titans. They were depicted, as they have been described through the myths, as three haggard old women. I’ve gotten to know them fairly well over this last year and thought they were an ideal topic for this #ImmortalMonday.
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But first …
We interrupt this blog for a special news bulletin. Thor is missing! Last seen heading toward northwestern Ohio, the god of thunder did not arrive at his Wapakoneta destination. For more information, or to share any clues on the whereabouts of Thor, please contact Laura at: http://lauraritchie.com/
Head over to Laura Ritchie’s Blog (After 7 am EST) to read up on Thor’s most recent adventure.
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The Moirai were the spinner of our fate, quite literally. Together, they determined the length of a person’s life. This meant they had to be privy to all events affecting one’s life, be the events past, present or future. They probably had all kinds of oracle abilities – although it isn’t really brought up. It stands to reason.
They are the daughters of Zeus, sometimes referred to as the Three Fates. These goddesses of fate are believed to be among the eldest in Greek mythology and, as the original spinners, ranged in age.
Clotho
As the youngest of the three sisters, it was Clotho’s responsibility to actually spin the threads of human life, themselves. She wielded an important power, determining when and who was actually born by deciding where to start a thread. Her Roman equivalent is Nona.
Lachesis
She is the middle sister, and has the heavy burden of determining one’s destiny – or the length of an individual’s life thread. Therefore, Lachesis must determine where a thread is cut. She is instrumental in a person’s destiny and is said to appear with her sisters to a newborn within three days of their birth. Her Roman equivalent is Decima.
Atropos
Also known as Aisa, she is the shortest and eldest of the sisters. Because of her task, she is considered “inflexible” or “inevitable,” for she is death. There is a lot of burden in her job, but someone has to do it. Atropos makes the crucial decision when our lives come to an end, cutting our thread of life with her shears, thus putting an end to it. She is the ultimate executioner of destiny. Her Roman equivalent is Morta.
Would you be accepting of a balanced gods and goddesses check system like this that controlled our fate? Do you think it would be all right as long as you didn’t know what fate had in store for your future? Or do you prefer a world where our destiny is unwritten?
~oOo~
Thanks for stopping by! I truly appreciate your support. Until next time, au revoir.
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Wonderful post, Deborah. I have always loved seeing different versions of The Three Fates, or The Three Graces as I have know them.
I once was the member of a trio of poets, and we called ourselves The Three Graces. I can’t remember which one I chose to be, or is any of the poetry was any good…. probably not 😉
Thank you, Dean. The Three Graces has a lovely ring to it. How neat that your poetry group was named after them. Thanks for taking the time to comment. I really appreciate it.
Being the thread cutter? Um, no thank you. I’m feeling stressed just thinking about that! 🙂
It’s funny that you would say that. I just wrote a story based on that particular sister. 😀 I suspect it was a very high stress position. I sure hope she didn’t have to deal with the backlash.
One of those ladies was in an episode of Supernatural I watched recently. I think she was Atropos. A life mixed with destiny and free will would be best, if that’s possible.
Love Supernatural. I’m trying to recall that episode. Your comment is going to make me google it to clear my foggy brain. Ugh. 🙂
A mix of destiny and free will. Good choice. I like it.
Most of what I know about the fates was from the Piers Anthony “Incarnations of Immortality” series. Oh, and there was an awesome Emerson, Lake and Palmer song about them. But to answer your question, I’ll choose free will!
And hmm, I sure hope someone finds Thor… 😀
That’s more than some people know. At least you knew that, right? I think there are a lot of people with you when it comes to choosing free will. Thanks, Jennette.
I hope Thor is found, too.
Great post, Debra. Funny coincidence, as I was recently plotting out a story with someone, and one of the Furies entered into the discussion. (Although, I don’t know which of these ladies they had in mind.) Thanks for all the great info!
Now I will return to my grieving over Thor….
Isn’t that funny how that happens. I see things like that happen all the time.
Please don’t grieve too much over Thor. He’s a crafty one. I’m sure he’ll show up.
Is it just me, or were these three in Hercules? The Disney animated movie… Anyway, love the three Fates or Graces. I’m off now to find out where Thor disappeared to. Oh no!
I know they were in Excalibur. Are you talking about the animated Hercules? I never saw that. I’ll have to check it out. I’m not to worried about Thor. Mini god and all. He’s probably flew off to cause some trouble and will get back on track soon enough. 😉
Excellent post. Those three ladies have always spooked me,
Thank you, Scott. Don’t be spooked. I don’t think their bad, just perceived as such.