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OCEANIDS: Who then is the steersman of
Necessity?
Prometheus 1:
The three-shaped MOERAE and mindful ERINYES (Furies).
OCEANIDS: Can it be that Zeus has less power than they
do?
Prometheus 1: Yes, in that even he cannot escape
what is foretold. [Aeschylus,
Prometheus
Bound 515]
"The threads which the
Fates spin are so unchageable, that, even if they
decreed to someone a kingdom which at the moment
belonged to another, and even if that other slew
the man of destiny, to save himself from ever being
deprived by him of his throne, nevertheless the
dead man would come to life again in order to
fulfil the decree of the Fates ... He who is
destined to become a carpenter, will become one
even if his hands have been cut off: and he who has
been destined to carry off the prize for running in
the Olympic games, will not fail to win even if he
broke his leg: and a man to whom the Fates have
decreed that he shall be an eminent archer, will
not miss the mark, even though he lost his
eyesight." [Flavius Philostratus,
Life
of Apollonius of Tyana 8.7]
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The MOERAE are the three sisters who decide on
human fate: Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropus.
They sing in unison with the music of the
SIRENS, or so it is said.
Lachesis sings of the things that were, Clotho of
those that are, and Atropus about the things that
will be. They are most honored among the gods
because they distribute justly, and have a share in
every home. They give men at their birth their
share of evil and good, and they punish the
transgressions of both men and of gods. Atropus is
said to be the eldest, the best and the shortest of
the sisters; Clotho is the 'spinner', and Lachesis
the apportioner of lots. It has also been claimed
that Tyche (Fortune) was
one of the MOERAE, and the most powerful of the
sisters because beauty, virtue, and good
Fame are in her keeping,
and also because she finds pleasure in dashing
immoderate hopes.
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Weavers of Fate
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Although the MOERAE are three, fate is one; and
although each man has his own fate, it is
nevertheless this one Fate that affects each and
everyone of them in different ways. Fate means
mainly death and all circumstances leading to
death, given that it does not seem to be any strict
predetermination of happenings, except the
unavoidable departure from this world, which is the
ultimate and inescapable destiny of all living
beings. This is why the MOERAE have been called
mighty, compelling, or overwhelming; and what they
have spun concerning the limits of life is
conclusive and final in most cases. And although it
appears that a man may die before his time, it does
not seem likely that he could go on living beyond
the time alloted to him by these three sisters, or
violate in any way what is meant to be his own
personal fate.
Fate is spun by the MOERAE at birth, so that the
flourishing life will be limited by
Necessity. This is why
Alcinous, the king of the
Phaeacians, said
about Odysseus:
"Nor shall he
meanwhile suffer any evil or harm, until he sets
foot upon his own land; but thereafter he shall
suffer whatever Fate and the dread Spinners spun
with their thread for him at his birth, when his
mother bore him." [Alcinous on
Odysseus. Homer,
Odyssey
7.195]
The many ways in which life may be lived or
enjoyed are not encompassed by the MOERAE. That
depends on the gods, or as others would say, on the
disposition of the soul. On the other hand, the
MOERAE set a limit to what a mortal may or not
achieve in his life, and set a limit to life
itself: death.
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No defence against
Death
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Normally the gods do not protect mortals from
death when their time has come. That is why
Athena, in the guise of
Mentor 4, said to
Telemachus:
". . . it is
our common lot to die, and the gods themselves
cannot rescue even one they love, when death that
streches all men out lays its dread han upon him."
[Homer,
Odyssey
3.235]
The gods then are not willing to change the
decisions of the MOERAE; not because the spinners
have a greater power, but because the gods do not
seem inclined to upset the order represented by the
three sisters. Otherwise, during the
Trojan War, had
Zeus saved his own son
Sarpedon 1, whom he grieved much. Yet the god
refrained from rescuing him, and limited himself to
send a shower of bloody raindrops down to the earth
". . . as a
tribute to his beloved son, whom Patroclus was about to kill . . . ."
[Homer,
Iliad
16.460]
For as Hera had reminded
him when he was considering to send his son back
home:
"If you send
Sarpedon home alive, what is to prevent some other
god from trying to rescue his own son from the
fight?" [Hera to
Zeus. Homer,
Iliad
16.445]
Similarly, when Hector
1 was about to perish (for his day had come),
Zeus felt great pain,
saying
". . . my
heart has sorrow for Hector . . ."
The god even seemed to contemplate saving him:
"Consider,
gods, and help me to decide whether we shall save
his life or let a good man fall this very day to
Achilles . . . "
[Zeus to the gods. Homer,
Iliad
22.170ff.]
To this answered
Athena:
"What are you
saying? . . . proposing to reprieve a man whose
doom has long been settled . . . "
[Athena to
Zeus]
And Zeus replied:
"In no wise do
I speak with full purpose of heart."
[Zeus to
Athena. Homer,
Iliad
22.184]
For nothing is done against the ordinances of
the MOERAE: life must meet its end at some point,
and beyond it another realm takes over.
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Choosing fate
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The ways in which events occur is known by the
gods. But mortals have difficulties in
understanding the interlaced design of the sisters'
fabric; and whereas some events seem unavoidable,
others may be conditioned. For the oracle of
Delphi told
Laius 1
". . . if you
beget a son, that child will kill you . . . ."
[Euripides,
Phoenician
Women 20]
... and had he abstained from having a child
(his son Oedipus), he
would have saved his own life. But as he
negligently chose the wrong path, he met the
predicted fate. Similarly,
Uranus and
Gaia warned
Zeus, saying that if his
first wife Metis 1 would bear a son, this son would
become the lord of heaven. But
Zeus, being wiser than
Laius 1 and having
learned the criss-cross of the MOERAE, swallowed
Metis 1, thereby choosing a better fate for
himself.
And also when the MOERAE declared that Thetis'
son would be greater and more famous than his
father, Zeus, remembering
what he had done to his own father
Cronos, and fearing that
he would be robbed of his power by his own son,
gave up his desire to wed Thetis, who later became
Achilles' mother. But
he could have done otherwise.
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Some exchanges with the gods
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But others, having heard
Achilles declare:
"As for my own
death, let it come when
Zeus and the other deathless gods
decide." [Homer,
Iliad
22.365]
and Penelope say:
". . . for the
immortals have appointed a proper time for each
thing upon the earth . . ." [Homer,
Odyssey
19.590]
. . . have believed that
Zeus is above destiny, and
have accordingly called him 'the Bringer of Fate'
and the 'Guide of Fate', for knowing the affairs of
men, and all that the MOERAE give them, as well as
all that is not in their fate.
Yet others have described occasions in which the
gods came to terms with the MOERAE, as when
Apollo obtained from them
that they should accept in ransom for the life of
Admetus 1 the life of whosoever would consent to
die in his stead; and later
Alcestis proved to be
the only one willing to die in her husband's place.
Or when Demeter lost her
daughter Persephone,
and because of her grief and wrath all the fruits
of the earth were perishing. Here
Zeus sent the MOERAE to
Demeter, who listened to
them, moderating her grief and anger.
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The Fate of Meleager
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The MOERAE are also remembered for having
declared, when Meleager
was seven days old, that he should die when the
brand burning on the hearth was burnt out. On
hearing their prophecy, his mother snatched up the
brand, and deposited it in a chest and carefully
preserved it. But later, from grief at the
slaughter of her brothers, she kindled the brand
and Meleager died. That
is why some sang:
"For chill
doom
He escaped not, but a swift flame consumed him,
As the brand was destroyed by his terrible mother,
contriver of evil." [Quoted by Pausanias,
Description
of Greece 10.31.4]
It is also said that they sang
Meleager's fate thus:
Clotho said that he would be noble, and Lachesis
that he would be brave, but Atropus looked at the
brand burning on the hearth and said: "He will live
only as long as this brand remains unconsumed."
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Other deeds of the MOERAE
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The MOERAE are reported to have fought with
clubs in the war between the
GIANTS and the
OLYMPIANS, killing a
couple of GIANTS.
Likewise, when Typhon attacked Heaven, they deluded
him by giving him to taste of the ephemeral fruits
in the persuasion that he would be strengthened
thereby.
The MOERAE are also said to have invented seven
of the letters of the alphabet: alpha, beta, eta,
tau, iota, and upsilon [one of the seven letters is
missing, Hyg.Fab.277].
If that were so, then it could be read in the
records of all that happens, which they keep on
tablets of brass and iron. For these, it is said,
are neither shaken by warfare in heaven, nor
lightning, nor any destructive power, being eternal
and secure, as they themselves are.
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The
MOERAE represent the three sections that
are attributed to Time (present, past,
and future): Clotho ('The Spinner'), the
youngest, puts the wool round the spindle,
and sings of the things that are; the
middle-aged Lachesis ('The Allotter')
spins it and sings of the things that
were; Atropus ('The Never-turn-back'), the
eldest, sings of the things that will be,
and cuts the thread when Death arrives.
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