The+Three+Fates

=__**The Three Fates!**__=

Taylor Dodge, Susana Ruiz-Gallegos, Courtney Cox



Overview:
The three fates, the Morai, are three sisters who determine the destiny and fate of all humanity, including the Gods. They are presented in several works of literature, like Homer's Odyssey, and in movies, like Hercules and The Clash of the Titans. Although these three goddesses are formerly included in the Greek Mythology, similar characters are found in Roman mythology and in Anglo-Sazon mythology. The primary symbols of these fates are thread, shears, and the colors of black or white.

Background/Heritage:
The three fates are a group of women that determine the length of the life span of everyone including the Gods. In Greek mythology they are called the Morai which means "those who allot". They control the "thread" of a person’s life. The first fate is Clotho, who is said to be the spinner of the thread of life, or the creator of life. Lachesis, the second fate, is said to be the one that measures the length of the thread of life or the one who decides a person’s destiny. Atropos, the last fate, is also called the Goddess of Death because she cuts the thread of life with her sheers or the one who ends a person’s life. The three share a mystical eye that can show them the future.

The three fates’ lineage is still a mystery. Some say that they are the daughters of Nyx, the Goddess of night. Others say that they are the offspring of Zeus, the leader of the Gods, and Themis, the Goddess of justice.

The reason that the fates were created is probably because the Ancient Greeks believed that their lies were ruled by destiny. They chose to believe that their lives and ruled by the Gods’ choices. Their life is predetermined therefore no matter how hard they strive for a different outcome it will never happen if the Gods don’t desire it to occur. The Ancient Greeks believed that there was no such idea as free will.

Allusions of the Three Fates:
Through the years the Three Fates have appeared in a multitude of movies and literature. Although they do not truly have their own myth, they appear in many other myths as the controllers of destiny. They are in everything from ancient myths to current video games and literature.

In a myth of Apollo, he tricked the fates into letting one of his friends, Admetus, live longer than his allotted time. It is said that Apollo did this by getting all three of the fates drunk and convincing them to take the life of a substitute instead of taking the life of Admetus.

The three fates aren’t directly mentioned in all allusions. In Homer’s Odyssey fate is mentioned which is a type of allusion that the three fates represent. Homer simply spoke of fate as a single force determined by the Gods. One poem of the three fates included a fourth sister. The first three spun the thread, measure it out, and snipped it at the end of life like all others. The fourth sister however, was little known and recognized by the Gods but she cleaned up after her other three sisters. She would sit by a fire every night and braid the lose ends of the thread.

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The Disney movie “Hercules” also included the three fates. In the movie the fates terminated the life of a woman and then they were confronted by Hades. The three fates used their mysterious eye of the future to predict the alignment of the planets and Hades’ possible future reign over the Gods due to the fall of Zeus.

Cross-Cultural:
In Greek Mythology, the three fates are most commonly know as the Moirai, which means "the alloter." The sisters are Clotho, who is the spinner of the thread, Lachesis, who draws out the thread, and Atropos, who cuts the thread.

The Romans refered to the fates as Parcae, which means "those who bring forth the child." The three sister are Nona, Decuma, and Morta. The three sisters fullfil the same role as in Greek Mythology but are more present at the birth of a child and within the first seven days of a child's life.

In Northern Europe, the three fates were known as the Norms. The were Urdh, who owns the well of life, Verdandi, who rules what is going on right now, and Skuld, who governs what must be and cuts the web of life with her crescent knife.

In Anglo-Saxon mythology, the three fates were known as the Weird Sisters, also spelled Wyrd.

Tip-offs/Symbols:
The most common symbol of the three fates is thread. This symbolizes how the lives of humans are interwoven. Also represents the lives of all mortals and suggests the fragile nature of a persons life. In the story of the three fates, the thread is woven as a life is formed, stretched as life is lived, and the thread is cut and severed at the death of a person.

Another symbol is shears, or scissors. This object symbolizes the final and inevitable cut of a human's life, done so by Atropos.

The final symbol would be the colors of black or white, the two most distinctive colors of the fates' robes. The color of black represents death, for these three women decide the time of death of man and God. However, the white robes are also associated with fate because these women are goddesses and can also be presented as the bringers of life. Both colors are presented in several stories.

Some tip-offs of the three fates in other works would be fate, three sisters (women), shears, and thread.