The Moirai/ Parcae

[Quintus Aurelius Orcus]

Salvete

The Moirai

Everyone should have thought about their lives once during their life, never to think that death may be around the corner of every room, street, etc… For the followers of the Olympian Gods, the Moirai are the ones who control our fates, our destinies so a closer look on these Goddesses is in order to be able to (try to) understand them better.
The Moirai are the Greek triple fate goddesses. They were directly associated with cloth making. This suggests that in earliest religion the life of an individual was like a cloth: the material (linen or wool) was spun (man was born), it was measured (a mortal's destiny was determined), and it was cut (death).
Their names were related to their function: Klotho ('spinner'), drew out the thread, Lachesis ('the alloter') measured their length, and Atropos ('inescapable' or 'irresistible') cut them off. The Moirai were variously depicted as three ugly old hags spinning thread or three women each in a different stage of life: maidenly Klotho, matronly Lachesis “ the Apportioner”, and Atropos the inevitable. They were closely associated with the phases of the moon: waxing, full, and waning equated to birth, life, and death.
Variations of this theme elsewhere in Greek mythology include the fate goddess Rhapso ('Stitcher') who was, like Athena, a weaver. She was worshipped at Athens. This singular, perhaps triune, form of the Moirai was also found in the form of the goddess Moira. His account is given to us by Homeros who mentions only one Moirai. Hesiodos on the other hand mentions 3.
Homeros speaks of one Moirai, a single spinning goddess who is “strong”., “hard to endure” and “destroying”. The Moirai spin the days of our lives, one day of which inevitability becomes the day of death. Solely they decide the length of the yarn that they assign to each mortal; not even Zeus can influence their decisions. The only thing Zeus can do is to take his golden scales, mostly at noon and measure for example of two confronted opponents and find out who is doomed to die that day.
They do not always form a trinity. On a vase painting on the wedding of Thetis and Peleus, they were with four instead of with three.
At Delphi only two of them were worshipped: the Moirai of birth and the Moirai of death.
The Greeks also had the concept of 'guardian angels' for individuals. It was popularly believed that each individual had their own guardian spirit (more called Agathos- daimon or just daimone)- either one or two. In Scandinavia these were called dises ('spirits'), while in Rome men had their genii and women their juno.
The decisive moment in an individual's life was at birth. It was then that the Moirai would take control, shape and define the destinies of the newborn. The great moments of life, death, troubles, riches, homecoming, etc., were all spun at this time. Thus they were frequently seen as birth goddesses and invoked as such. Indeed, in Rome they were primarily seen as birth goddesses, called the Parcae, whose name is related to birthing. The Moirai appeared once more at weddings, where they spin once more. Hence baby showers and wedding gifts are customs that reflect the well-wishing people bring hopefully on behalf of the Fates. At the birth of a man, the Moirai spinned out the thread of his future life, followed his steps, and directed the consequences of his actions according to the counsel of the gods. It was not an inflexible fate; Zeus, if he chose, had the power of saving even those who were already on the point of being seized by their fate. The Fates did not abruptly interfere in human affairs but availed themselves of intermediate causes, and determined the lot of mortals not absolutely, but only conditionally, even man himself, in his freedom was allowed to exercise a certain influence upon them. As man's fate terminated at his death, the goddesses of fate become the goddesses of death, Moirai Thanatoio.
The Moirai were independent, at the helm of necessity, directed fate, and watched that the fate assigned to every being by eternal laws might take its course without obstruction; and Zeus, as well as the other gods and man, had to submit to them. They assigned to the Erinyes, who inflicted the punishment for evil deeds, their proper functions; and with them they directed fate according to the laws of necessity.

[Quintus Aurelius Orcus]

As goddesses of birth, who spinned the thread of life, and even prophesied the fate of the newly born, Eileithyia was their companion.
As goddesses of fate they must necessarily have known the future, which at times they revealed, and were therefore prophetic deities. Their ministers were all the soothsayers and oracles.
As goddesses of death, they appeared together with the Keres and the infernal Erinyes.
Zeus as the god of the fate of mortals was their leader.
The Moirai generally remained personally remote from the affairs of gods and men.
When death was at hand, the Keres ('dooms'), malevolent chthonic female spirits that literary descriptions suggest were birds of prey (or vultures?) similar to Harpies, appeared to deliver the fatal blow and spirited One version has them as the offspring of the 'goddess' Nyx ('Night'), who is sometimes seen as threefold goddess, singly or with either the equally nebulous 'god' Erebus ('Darkness') or Khronos ('Time'). Elsewhere they are the offspring of Gaea ('Earth') and Oceanus ('Ocean'), or singly by Ananke ('Necessity').
It thus seems likely that the Fates were primordial beings. They also have some sort of relationship with Time. It might be construed by some that the Moirai obeyed this nebulous being.
Hesiodos, on the other hand, has them as the daughters of Zeus and Themis, but then again Hesiodos has Zeus the father of just about everybody. Hesiodos also has the gods playing a much larger role in determining the fates of people (but his powerful gods made for better reading and sold more books). Hesiodos also has the Moirai subject to the will and command of Zeus. Thus He was called Moeragetes ('Leader of the Morai'). This concept seems to have become popular in Greece only after the fifth century BC. Still, this seems to have been a little exaggerated. After all, a main theme of most mythologies is the inescapability of one's fate. This is played out over and over again by gods and men alike. Even in Greek mythology Kronos seeks to circumvent the fateful prophecy that he will overthrow by one of his sons by eating them. Still, Zeus manages to escape his dinner plate and is ultimately deposed. Thus we see that even the gods fulfilled their destinies. Zeus himself, like Odin, is destined to be overthrown. However, Prometheus is the only one that knows who will overthrow him, and he does not say in Greek mythology.
Zeus and other gods, meanwhile, successfully circumvent death on behalf of their favorites. Zeus, for instance, at Aphrodite's request allows that Adonis be resurrected for half of the year. He also reincarnates Dionysos after Titans had torn him to pieces. Apollo, with his oracular skills, could influence fate. Apollo even snatched his mortal son Asklepios from the funeral pyre of his dead amour Koronis, again circumventing fate - or acting as its agent? Asklepios also raised the dead Hippolytos. However, Zeus could not continence such a heresy, and killed the healer with his thunderbolt. The Morai appeared at Zeus' marriages to both Themis and Hera as well as at the marriage of Peleos and Thetis. However, the Morai did not spin on these occasions - they sang. This apparently showed some convergence with the Muses. Hesiodos also related the Moirai to the Horai, the Seasons. The Moirai promoted crops, and sacrifices were made to them at seedtime and after the harvest.
The Moirai are mysterious Goddesses or a mysterious Goddess depending on how one sees it. The dominion they are in control over lies so close to the dominion of Death itself. Since it are the Fates/ Moirai who control our destiny and how and when we die so we can assume that Death has no more control over life and death than any other God for that matter. The Gods may have a certain control over Thanatos, but not over the Moirai. The Christians and Jews might say that life and death lies in the hands of their God, while the lives and deaths of every person who honors the Olympian Gods lies in the hands of a mysterious Goddess or Goddesses whose number is as uncertain as their power over the lives of mortals.
Sources:

Karl Kereny: Gods of the Greeks
Enter the Mist: website on Mythologies of Scandinavia, Celts, Greeks, Romans, etc…
Theoi Project
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Valete optime in pace deorum
Romulus

[Quintus Aurelius Orcus]

Salvete

This essay on the Moirai are part of a large group essays on the Gods of Olympus. Since i have already covered the Protogenoi, i now covered the Moirai, Goddesses of Destiny and Fate. The next group are the Titans. Since there is not much info on them, it will be like the Protogenoi thread. Since the essay on the Titans are almost finished, i shal begin posting it from tomorrow. However when one does read the functions of the Titans i placed next to their names, place a big question mark next to it. These functions come from a friend of mine. If anyone knows something more on the functions of the Titans, i could use any info on these functions.
thank you
valete optime
Romulus