Moirai

In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Moirai (ˈmɔɪraɪ,_-riː)often known in English as the Fateswere the personifications of destiny. They were three sisters: Clotho (the spinner), Lachesis (the allotter) and Atropos (the unturnable, a metaphor for death). Their Roman equivalent is the Parcae. The role of the Moirai was to ensure that every being, mortal and divine, lived out their destiny as it was assigned to them by the laws of the universe. For mortals, this destiny spanned their entire lives and was represented as a thread spun from a spindle. Generally, they were considered to be above even the gods in their role as enforcers of fate, although in some representations, Zeus, the chief of the gods, is able to command them. The concept of a universal principle of natural order and balance has been compared to similar concepts in other cultures such as the Vedic Ṛta, the Avestan Asha (Arta) and the Egyptian Maat. The word Moirai, also spelled Moirae or Mœræ, comes from μοῖρα, which means "lots, destinies, apportioners". It also means a portion or lot of the whole. It is related to meros, "part, lot" and moros, "fate, doom". The possible derived Latin meritum, "reward", English merit, maybe coming from the Proto-Indo-European language root *(s)mer, "to allot, assign". In addition, Moira may mean portion or share in the distribution of booty (ίση μοῖρα, ísē moîra, "equal booty"), portion in life, lot, destiny, (μοῖραv ἔθηκαν ἀθάνατοι, moîran éthēken athánatoi, "the immortals fixed the destiny"), death (μοῖρα θανάτοιο, moîra thanátoio, "destiny of death"), portion of the distributed land. mete and right (κατὰ μοῖραν, kata moîran, "according to fate, in order, rightly"). The three Moirai are known in English (wyrd) as the Fates. This derives from Roman mythology, in which they are the Parcae or Fata, plural of fatum, meaning prophetic declaration, oracle, or destiny; euphemistically, the "sparing ones". There are other equivalents that descend from the Proto-Indo-European culture.