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==Mythology==
==Mythology==

The Moirae were supposed to appear three nights after a child's birth to determine the course of its life, as in the story of [[Meleager]] and the firebrand taken from the hearth and preserved by his mother to extend his life<ref>Pseudo-Apollodorus, story of Meleager in ''[[Bibliotheke]]'' 1.65.</ref> Bruce Karl Braswell<ref>Braswell, "Meleager and the Moirai: A Note on Ps.-Apollodorus 1. 65" ''Hermes'' '''119'''.4 (1991:488f).</ref> from readings in the [[Hesychius of Alexandria|lexicon of Hesychius]], associates the appearance of the Moirae at the family ''hearth'' on the ''seventh'' day with the ancient Greek custom of waiting seven days after birth to decide whether to accept the infant into the Gens and to give it a name, cemented with a ritual at the hearth. At [[Sparta]] the temple to the Moirae stood near the communal hearth of the ''[[polis]]'', as [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]] observed.<ref>Pausanias, 3.11. 10-11.</ref>
The Moirai were described as ugly old women, sometimes lame. They were severe, inflexible and stern. [[Clotho]] carries a spindle or a roll (the book of ate), [[Lachesis (mythology)|Lachesis]] a staff with which she points to the horoscope on a globe, and [[Atropos]] (Aisa) a scroll, a wax tablet, a sundial, a pair of scales, or a cutting instrument. At other times the three were shown with staffs or sceptres, the symbols of dominion, and sometimes even with crowns. At the birth of each man they appeared spinning, measuring, and cutting the thread of life. <ref name=Theoi.Moirai>[http://www.theoi.com/Daimon/Moirai.html Theoi Project Moirai] </ref> The Moirae were supposed to appear three nights after a child's birth to determine the course of its life, as in the story of [[Meleager]] and the firebrand taken from the hearth and preserved by his mother to extend his life <ref>Pseudo-Apollodorus, story of Meleager in ''[[Bibliotheke]]'' 1.65.</ref> Bruce Karl Braswell<ref>Braswell, "Meleager and the Moirai: A Note on Ps.-Apollodorus 1. 65" ''Hermes'' '''119'''.4 (1991:488f).</ref> from readings in the [[Hesychius of Alexandria|lexicon of Hesychius]], associates the appearance of the Moirae at the family ''hearth'' on the ''seventh'' day with the ancient Greek custom of waiting seven days after birth to decide whether to accept the infant into the Gens and to give it a name, cemented with a ritual at the hearth. At [[Sparta]] the temple to the Moirae stood near the communal hearth of the ''[[polis]]'', as [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]] observed.<ref>Pausanias, 3.11. 10-11.</ref>

As goddesses of birth who even prophesized the fate of the newly born, [[Eileithyia]] the ancient Minoan goddess of childbirth and divine midwifery was their companion.[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]] mentions an ancient role of Eileythia as "the clever spinner", relating her with destiny too. <ref> [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], 8.21.3 </ref> Their appearance indicate the Greek desire for health which was connected with the Greek cult of the body that was essentially a religious activity.<ref> [[Pindar]], ''Nemean'' VII 1-4 </ref>

The '''Moirae'' assigned to the [[Erinyes]] who inflicted the punishment for evil deads their proper functions , and with them directed fate according to necessity.As goddesses of death they appeared together with the [[daemons]] of death [[Keres (mythology)|Keres]] and the infernal Erinyes. <ref name=Theoi.Moirai/>


The Greeks variously claimed that they were the daughters of [[Zeus]] and the [[Titan (mythology)|Titan]]ess [[Themis]] (the "Institutor") or of primordial beings like [[Nyx (mythology)|Nyx, ''the Night'']], [[Chaos (mythology)|Chaos]] or [[Ananke (mythology)|Ananke, ''Necessity'']].
The Greeks variously claimed that they were the daughters of [[Zeus]] and the [[Titan (mythology)|Titan]]ess [[Themis]] (the "Institutor") or of primordial beings like [[Nyx (mythology)|Nyx, ''the Night'']], [[Chaos (mythology)|Chaos]] or [[Ananke (mythology)|Ananke, ''Necessity'']].

Revision as of 13:46, 20 October 2011

Greek deities
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The Moirae, Moerae or Moirai (in Greek Μοῖραι – the "apportioners", often called The Fates), in Greek mythology, were the white-robed incarnations of destiny (Roman equivalent: Parcae, euphemistically the "sparing ones", or Fata; also equivalent to the Germanic Norns). Their number became fixed at three. The Greek word moira (μοῖρα) literally means a part or portion of the whole, and by extension one's portion in life or destiny, which consisted of bad and good moments distributed by the Fates,[1] who predestinated the events.[2] They controlled the metaphorical thread of life of every mortal from birth to death, and it was impossible for anyone to act over his destiny (υπέρ μοίραν).

In the Homeric poems Moira or Aisa (Fate) was probably originally a daemon, the personification of a power acting in parallel with the gods.[2] Later in the Theogony of Hesiod the Moirae represent a power acting over the gods.[1]. In Greek mythology they are daughters of Zeus and Themis, who was the embodiment of divine order, social order and law,[3][4] Later in Orphic cosmogony they are daughters of the primeval goddess Ananke (necessity). [5]

In earliest Greek philosophy, Anaximander conveys this mythical idea to the balancing of opposite powers as central to reality. The goddess Dike (justice,divine retribution), keeps the order and sets a limit to any actions.[6] In antiquity this conception complied to the Greek desire to discern an order in the univese, to which even the gods have to conform. The ancient Greek writers called this power Moira (Fate), Ananke (necessity), or combined both in a scheme.[7]

Etymology

The Ancient Greek word moira (μοίρα) meant a portion or lot of the whole, related to meros, "part,lot" and moros, "fate, doom",[8] Latin meritum, "desert,reward" , English merit, derived from the PIE root *(s)mer, "to allot,assign".[9] It was used for the portion of the distributed land,[10] division of people, distribution of booty, and for one's portion in life, lot, destiny.[11] In Homer moira is the power of Fate or death , but it also means that which is meet and right. (Ilias 16.387: "according to fate": in order, rightly )[11] Moirae means shares or alloted portions. The word daemon, who was the personification of a certain power came to be similar with the word moira-destiny.[12]

The word nomos (law) may have meant originally a portion or lot, as in the verb nemein (to distribute), and thus "natural lot" came to mean "natural law".[13] The word dike (justice) conveyed the notion that someone should stay within his own boundaries respecting the ones of his neighbour. If someone broke his boundaries (sphere) thus getting more than his ordained part (moira), then he would be punished. By extension moira was one's portion or part in destiny which consisted of good and bad moments as it was predetermined by the Moirae (Fates)[1] and it was impossible for anyone to get more than his ordained part. In modern Greek the word came to mean "destiny" (μοίρα or ειμαρμένη).

Kismet, the predetermined course of events in Muslim religion seems to have a similar etymology and function. It means Fate or destiny in the Indo-Aryan Urdu language.In Persian qesmat, in Arabic qisma, "lot", derived from qasama, "to divide, allot".

Zeus and the Moirae

In the Homeric poems Moira, who is almost always one, is acting indepedently from the gods, and represents the law of nature (order), which ordains that every human being must die. Only Zeus, the chief sky-deity of the Myceneans is close to Moira, and in a passage he is the personification of this abstract power.[14] Using a weighing scale (balance) Zeus weighs Hectors "lot of death" (Ker)[15] against the one of Achilleus. Hector's lot weighs down, and he dies according to Fate. Zeus appears as the guider of destiny, who gives everyone the right portion.[16][17]

In a Mycenean vase, Zeus holds a weighing scale (balance) in front of two warriors, indicating that he is measuring their destiny before the battle. The belief (fatalism) was that if they die in battle, they must die, and this was rightly oferred ( according to fate).[18]

In Theogony the Moirae are daughters of the primeval goddess, Nyx ("Night"),[19], and they represent a power acting over the gods.[1] In another passage probably from a different period, they are daughters of Zeus who gives them the greatest honour, and Themis,[20] who was the embodiment of divine order, social order and law.[3][4]

Even the gods feared the Moirae or Fate, which according to Herodotus a god couldn't escape.[21] The Pythian priestess at Delphi once admitted, that Zeus was also subject to their power, though no classic writing clarifies as to what exact extent the lives of immortals were affected by the whims of the Fates. It is to be expected that the relationship of Zeus and the Moirae was not immutable over the centuries.In either case in antiquity we can see a feeling towards a notion of an order to which even the gods have to conform, and which removes any imputation of irresponsibility or personal whim in the governance of the universe. Simonides names this power Ananke (necessity) (the mother of the Moirae in Orphic cosmogony)[5] and says that even the gods don't fight against it.[22] Aeschylus combines Fate and necessity in a scheme, and claims that even Zeus cannot alter which is ordained.[7]

A supposed epithet Zeus Moiragetes, meaning "Zeus Leader of the Moirae" was inferred by Pausanias from an inscription he saw in the 2nd century AD at Olympia: "As you go to the starting-point for the chariot-race there is an altar with an inscription to the Bringer of Fate.[23] This is plainly a surname of Zeus, who knows the affairs of men, all that the Fates give them, and all that is not destined for them."[24] At the Temple of Zeus at Megara, Pausanias inferred from the relief sculptures he saw "Above the head of Zeus are the Horai and Moirae, and all may see that he is the only god obeyed by Moira." Pausanias' inferred assertion is unsupported in cult practice, though he noted a sanctuary of the Moirae there at Olympia (v.15.4), and also at Corinth (ii.4.7) and Sparta (iii.11.8), and adjoining the sanctuary of Themis outside a city gate of Thebes[25]

The three Moirae

When they were three,[26] the three Moirae were:

In the Republic of Plato, the three Moirae sing in unison with the music of the Seirenes. Lachesis sings the things that were, Clotho the things that are, and Atropos the things that are to be. [29] Pindar in his Hymn to the Fates, holds them in high honour.He calls them to send the Hours ( Lawfulness, Right and Peace) to stop the internal civil strife:

Listen Fates, who sit nearest of gods to the throne of Zeus,

and weave with shuttles of adamant, inescapable devices for councels of every kind beyond counting, Aisa, Clotho and Lachesis, fine-armed daughters of Night, hearken to our prayers, all-terrible goddesses, of sky and earth. Send us rose-bossomed Lawfulness, and her sisters on glittering thrones, Right and crowned Peace, and make this city

forget the misfortunes which lie heavily on her heart [30]

Mythology

The Moirai were described as ugly old women, sometimes lame. They were severe, inflexible and stern. Clotho carries a spindle or a roll (the book of ate), Lachesis a staff with which she points to the horoscope on a globe, and Atropos (Aisa) a scroll, a wax tablet, a sundial, a pair of scales, or a cutting instrument. At other times the three were shown with staffs or sceptres, the symbols of dominion, and sometimes even with crowns. At the birth of each man they appeared spinning, measuring, and cutting the thread of life. [31] The Moirae were supposed to appear three nights after a child's birth to determine the course of its life, as in the story of Meleager and the firebrand taken from the hearth and preserved by his mother to extend his life [32] Bruce Karl Braswell[33] from readings in the lexicon of Hesychius, associates the appearance of the Moirae at the family hearth on the seventh day with the ancient Greek custom of waiting seven days after birth to decide whether to accept the infant into the Gens and to give it a name, cemented with a ritual at the hearth. At Sparta the temple to the Moirae stood near the communal hearth of the polis, as Pausanias observed.[34]

As goddesses of birth who even prophesized the fate of the newly born, Eileithyia the ancient Minoan goddess of childbirth and divine midwifery was their companion.Pausanias mentions an ancient role of Eileythia as "the clever spinner", relating her with destiny too. [35] Their appearance indicate the Greek desire for health which was connected with the Greek cult of the body that was essentially a religious activity.[36]

The 'Moirae assigned to the Erinyes who inflicted the punishment for evil deads their proper functions , and with them directed fate according to necessity.As goddesses of death they appeared together with the daemons of death Keres and the infernal Erinyes. [31]

The Greeks variously claimed that they were the daughters of Zeus and the Titaness Themis (the "Institutor") or of primordial beings like Nyx, the Night, Chaos or Ananke, Necessity.

The Moirae, as depicted in a 16th century tapestry

In earlier times they were represented as only a few – perhaps only one – individual goddess. Homer's Iliad (xxiv.209) speaks generally of the Moera, who spins the thread of life for men at their birth; she is Moera Krataia "powerful Moira" (xvi.334) or there are several Moerae (xxiv.49). In the Odyssey (vii.197) there is a reference to the Klôthes, or Spinners. At Delphi, only the Fates of Birth and Death were revered.[37] In Athens, Aphrodite, who had an earlier, pre-Olympic existence, was called Aphrodite Urania the 'eldest of the Fates' according to Pausanias (x.24.4).

A bilingual Eteocretan text[38] has the Greek translation Ομοσαι δαπερ Ενορκίοισι (Omosai d-haper Enorkioisi, "But may he swear [these] very things to the Oath-Keepers"). In Eteocretan this is rendered —S|TUPRMĒRIĒIA, in which MĒRIĒIA may refer to the divinities the Hellenes knew as the Moirae.[citation needed]

Versions of the Moirae also existed on the deepest European mythological level. It is difficult to separate them from the other Indo-European spinning fate goddesses known as the Norns in Norse mythology and the Baltic goddess Laima and her two sisters. Some Greek mythographers went so far as to claim that the Moirae were the daughters of Zeus— paired with either Ananke ("Necessity") or, as Hesiod had it in one passage,[39] Themis ("Fundament") or Nyx ("Night"). Whether or not providing a father even for the Moirae was a symptom of how far Greek mythographers were willing to go, in order to modify the old myths to suit the patrilineal Olympic order,[40] the claim of a paternity was certainly not acceptable to Aeschylus, Herodotus, or Plato.

The Moirae were usually described as cold, remorseless and unfeeling, and depicted as old crones or hags. The independent spinster has always inspired fear rather than matrimony: "this sinister connotation we inherit from the spinning goddess," write Ruck and Staples (Ruck and Staples 1994:). See weaving (mythology).

Despite their forbidding reputation, Moirae could be placated as goddesses. Brides in Athens offered them locks of hair and women swore by them. They may have originated as birth-goddesses and only later acquired their reputation as the agents of destiny.

They likewise have forbidding appearances (beards), and appear to determine the fates of all individuals.

While the Moirae were feared even by the formidable Olympians, including Zeus, they could still be defeated in battle as proven in the Gigantomachy where the Giants fought against the combined forces of the Gods, the Moirae and Heracles. Though the Moirae did kill the Giants Agrios and Thoon with their bronze clubs, a prophecy detailed a victory for the Giants should Heracles not fight alongside the Olympians.[41]

The Moirae in literature

The Moirae are fictionalized characters in Piers Anthony's With a Tangled Skein.

See also

References

  • Thomas Blisniewski, '1992. 'Kinder der dunkelen Nacht: Die Ikonographie der Parzen vom späten Mittelalter bis zum späten 18. Jahrhundert. (Cologne) Iconography of the Fates from the late Middle Ages to the end of the 18th century.
  • Robert Graves, Greek Myths
  • Jane Ellen Harrison, Prolegomena to the Study of Greek Religion 1903. Chapter VI, "The Maiden-Trinities"
  • Karl Kerenyi, 1951. The Gods of the Greeks (Thames and Hudson)
  • Harry Thurston Peck, Harper's Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, 1898. perseus.tufts.edu
  • Herbert Jennings Rose, Handbook of Greek Mythology, 1928.
  • Carl Ruck and Danny Staples, The World of Classical Myth, 1994.
  • William Smith, Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, 1870, article on Moira, ancientlibrary.com
  • Markos Giannoulis: Die Moiren. Tradition und Wandel des Motivs der Schicksalsgöttinnen in der antiken und byzantinischen Kunst, Ergänzungsband zu Jahrbuch für Antike und Christentum, Kleine Reihe 6 (F. J. Dölger Institut). Aschendorff Verlag, Münster 2010, ISBN 9783402109137
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Moirae.

References

  1. ^ a b c d Hesiod, Theogony 221-225. " Also Night (Nyx) bare the destinies and ruthless avenging Fates, who give men at their birth both evil and good to have, and they pursue the transgressions of men and gods... until they punish the sinner with a sore penalty." :The Theogony of Hesiod.Transl. Hugh Evelyn White (1914) 221-225 online Cite error: The named reference "Hesiod221" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Fate is not a god, because otherwise the will of the god would be predestinated. Compare Kismet in Muslim religion" :M. Nillson (1967). Die Geschichte der Griechische Religion. Vol I . C.F.Beck Verlag. Munchen p.368
  3. ^ a b M.Finley (1978) .The world of Oddyseus rev.ed. New York Viking Press p.78 Note
  4. ^ a b In Oddysey,Themistes: "dooms, things laid down originally by divine authority", the themistes of Zeus.Body: council of elders who stored in the collective memory. Thesmos:unwritten law, based on precedent: L.H.Jeffery (1976) Archaic Greece.The City-States c. 700-500 BC . Ernest Benn Ltd. London & Tonbridge p. 42 ISBN 0510 03271 0
  5. ^ a b Theoi Project - Ananke
  6. ^ Simplicius, In Physica 24.13 . The Greek peers of Anaximander echoed his sentiment with the belief in natural boundaries beyond which not even the gods could operate : Bertrand Russel (1946). A history of Western Philosophy, and its connections with Political and Social Circumstances from the earliest times to the Present Day. New York. Simon and Schuster p. 148
  7. ^ a b Aeschylus, Prometheus Bound , 510-518 : "Not in this way is Moira (Fate) who brings all to fulfillment, destined to complete this course. Skill is weaker far than Ananke (necessity). Yes in that even he (Zeus) cannot escape what is foretold" . Theoi Project - Ananke
  8. ^ Moira, Online Etymology Dictionary
  9. ^ merit, Online Etymology Dictionary
  10. ^ The citizents of Sparta were called omoioi (equals) , indicating that they had equal parts ("isomoiria", ισομοιρία) of the alloted land
  11. ^ a b μοῖρα, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus Digital Library
  12. ^ "with the daemon" ( συν δαίμονα ) means "over destiny" (υπερ μοίραν): M.Nilsson (1967) Vol I. p.217
  13. ^ L.H.Jeffery (1976) Archaic Greece.The City-States c. 700-500 BC . Ernest Benn Ltd. London & Tonbridge p. 42 ISBN 0510 03271 0
  14. ^  :M. Nillson (1967). Die Geschichte der Griechische Religion. Vol I . C.F.Beck Verlag. Munchen p.361-368
  15. ^ (Ker) may be interpreted as "black Fate" or "violent death": The Theogony of Hesiod.Transl. Hugh Evelyn White (1914) 221-225 online
  16. ^ Ilias X 209 ff. O.Crusius Rl, Harisson Prolegomena 5.43 ff : M. Nillson (1967). Die Geschichte der Griechische Religion. Vol I . C.F.Beck Verlag. Munchen pp. 217, 222
  17. ^ This is similar to the famous scene in the Egyptian book of the dead, although the conception is different. Anubis weighs the sins of a man's heart against the feather of truth. If man's heart weighs down, then he is devoured by a monster: Taylor, John H. (Editor- 2009), Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead: Journey through the afterlife. British Museum Press, London, 2010. pp. 209, 215 ISBN 978-0-7141-1993-9
  18. ^ M.P.Nilsson, "Zeus-Schiksalwaage ". Homer and Mycenea D 56. The same belief in Kismet. Also the soldiers in the World-War believed that they wouldn't die by a bullet, unless their name was written on the bullet: M. Nillson (1967). Die Geschichte der Griechische Religion. Vol I . C.F.Beck Verlag. Munchen pp. 366, 367
  19. ^ H.J. Rose, Handbook of Greek Mythology, p.24
  20. ^ The Theogony of Hesiod.Transl. Hugh Evelyn White (1914) 901-906 online
  21. ^ Herodotus, Histories I 91
  22. ^ Diels-Kranz. Fr.420
  23. ^ The Greek is Moiragetes (Pausanias, 5.15.5).
  24. ^ Pausanias, v.15.5.
  25. ^ "There is a sanctuary of Themis, with an image of white marble; adjoining it is a sanctuary of the Fates, while the third is of Zeus of the Market. Zeus is made of stone; the Fates have no images." (Pausanias, ix.25.4).
  26. ^ The expectation that there would be three was strong by the 2nd century CE: when Pausanias visited the temple of Apollo at Delphi, with Apollo and Zeus each accompanied by a Fate, he remarked "There are also images of two Moirai; but in place of the third Moira there stand by their side Zeus Moiragetes and Apollon Moiragetes."
  27. ^ Compare the ancient goddess Adrasteia, the "inescapable".
  28. ^ "Comes the blind Fury with th'abhorred shears, / And slits the thin spun life." John Milton, Lycidas, l. 75.
    Wikisource has original text related to this article:
  29. ^ Plato, Republic , 617c (translated by Sorrey). Theoi Project - Ananke
  30. ^ Pindar, Fragmenta Chorica Adespota, 5. Diehl
  31. ^ a b Theoi Project Moirai
  32. ^ Pseudo-Apollodorus, story of Meleager in Bibliotheke 1.65.
  33. ^ Braswell, "Meleager and the Moirai: A Note on Ps.-Apollodorus 1. 65" Hermes 119.4 (1991:488f).
  34. ^ Pausanias, 3.11. 10-11.
  35. ^ Pausanias, 8.21.3
  36. ^ Pindar, Nemean VII 1-4
  37. ^ Kerenyi 1951:32.
  38. ^ The inscription, from the Delphinion in Dreros, was published by Henri van Effenterre in Bulletin de Correspondance Hellénique 70 (1946:602f); the original inscription has disappeared: on-line text.
  39. ^ Hesiod, Theogony, 904.
  40. ^ "Zeus obviously had to assimilate this spinning Goddess, and he made them into his daughters, too, although not by all accounts, for even he was bound ultimately by Fate", observe Ruck and Staples (1994:57).
  41. ^ theoi.com
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