The Three Fates

                                                 The goddess Themis and Zeus bore three daughters. At one time these three immortals were beautiful and pleasant; however it came to pass when they were known as the three hags of destiny and sat by the throne of Zeus.


Their names were Clotho, who spun the yarn of life. Lachesis  who measured the length that was given to each and every living being which that lived and last was Atropos who is the oldest of the three sisters known as the Goddess’ of Death and was the one that cut the yarn. At this time the man who the yarn was attached to died.


Zeus the father had the Fates kill men taking revenge at his will.  He also commanded the Fates not to cut or had Clotho spin the cut piece back together. The Fates had oracles to tell them what was going to happen and who would die on this day.


The threads were very delicate and small and when Lachesis decided that the thread was long enough then she would give the order to Atropos to snip the thread and end the life that was connected to it.


The three Fates may have even had the power to kill the Gods because the yarn strands were for every life form on earth and the heavens. This would have made the sisters of Fate more powerful then any God or Goddess. It is written that the gods feared the Fates and did not anger them in any way and possibly lose their immortality. .


The Romans gave them the names of Nona, Clotho,; Decuma, Lachesis; and Morta,Atropos. They were the goddess Parcae and were considered all of them as being the Goddess’ of death. 


Many prayed to the Fates to not ending their life, to ensure a good harvest or good child births.
Another tradition is that after every birth of a child, for seven nights afterwards they visit the child and determine his or her fate to see how to spin their life line.


Meleager, a Greek hero, fate was decided when he was seven days old. The Sisters said that he would die when the log that lay upon the hearth would burn. His mother feared this and took the log and placed it in a chest, locked and hidden, only she knew where it was.


Meleager had murdered his uncles along with his mother, but she  told him what the Fates had said seven nights after he was born.  She then told him where the log was and what would happen to him if it burned. Meleager was in anguish over  all of the murders he had committed and brought out the log and threw it upon the fire and watched it burn and as the Fates had predicted as soon as the log finished burning Meleager died.


The Fates with the powers of deciding a life’s path were feared but revered by men who know that life and death comes to all living things.  Life and death play a large role in mythology in all cultures there are explanations and the seeking  of answers to why death exists and how to prevent death.