#moirai
A guide to worship of Moirai - cheat sheets
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The Moirai, or Fates, are the three goddesses of the Greek pantheon who determine the path of human destiny. With such a role, they are considered both goddesses of birth and of death, arriving when a person is born to assign them their fate, and again when they die to end it.
The oldest stories called them one collective power of Fate, namely Aisa:
Aisa - Αἶσα, the abstract concept of “fate,” related to the verb αἰτέω aitéō, which is “to ask, crave, demand, beg for”
However, in later accounts the three individual deities were separated, each performing a certain function, to form the trio of the Moirai:
Moirai - Μοῖρα, from the Ancient Greek μοῖρα moîra, “part, portion, destiny,” the verb form is μείρομαι meíromai, which means “to receive as your portion, to accept fate,” possibly from the Proto-Indo-European root smer-meaning alternately, “to remember, care for” and “allotment or assignment”
In Theogeny of Hesiod, they’re called both the children of Zeus and Themis, but also daughters of Nyx, the night:
“Also she [Nyx] bare the Destinies and ruthless avenging Fates, Clotho and Lachesis and Atropos, who give men at their birth both evil and good to have, and they pursue the transgressions of men and of gods: and these goddesses never cease from their dread anger until they punish the sinner with a sore penalty.”
Clotho - Κλωθώ, from the Ancient Greek verb κλώθω klótho,which is literally “to spin (as in wool or cotton), twist by spinning;” the youngest fate and the spinner of the thread of life
Lachesis - Λάχεσις, related to the Ancient Greek verb λαγχάνω lankhánō,which means “I obtain, receive by drawing lots, assigned to a post by lot,” the root for which may be the noun λάχος lákhos,“lot, destiny, fate;” the second fate, measurer of the thread of life
Atropos - Ἄτροπος, literally meaning “unchangeable,” compounds the prefix ἀ- a-(”gives it’s host the opposite of the usual definition, similar to English un-, as in wisetounwise”) and the verb τρέπω trépō,which is “I turn,” likely from the Proto-Indo-European root trep-, “to turn or bow one’s head (possibly out of shame);” the eldest fate, bearing the sharp shears which sever the threads of life, also known as “inevitable”
“Το πεπρωμένον φυγείν αδύνατον" ("It’s impossible to avoid Destiny”)
The #fates #moirai :
#clotho #lachesis & #atropos
The three sisters #goddesses who assign individual #destinies to both mortals and gods.
They determine when Life begins (Clotho) when it ends (Atropos) and everything in between (Lachesis)
[It’s just the second time that I’m drawing them and I’ve made some minor changes ;) And yes they will appear in the episodes at some point…]
#threadoflife #moires #cartoonarts #drawing #vector_art #ancientgreece #mythical #underworld (à Poseidi,Halkidiki)
https://www.instagram.com/p/B0p3Q8TBW8D/?igshid=y2r9no6f9hq5
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Signs as Moirai
Clotho - she spun the thread of one’s life: Gemini, Virgo, Capricorn, Cancer
Lachesis - she measured the thread which was assigned to every person: Aquarius, Libra, Taurus, Pisces
Atropos - she chose the manner of death and cut the life thread: Sagittarius, Aries, Scorpio, Leo
(SOLD) My piece, “The Moirai”, is up for sale! (Details below) Please email or message me if you are interested in owning this original piece!
Much love,
Audrey
___________________________________
Email: [email protected]
Media: Charcoal/Watercolor wash
Price: $600
Dimensions: 14″x17″(framed) 10″x8″(artwork)
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Some preliminary character sketches for my Moirai Illustration. I thought these might be nice to share aside from the piece. I can’t get excited about an image unless I am initially satisfied with the characters.
Audrey Benjaminsen 2016
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The Moirai… Clothos, Atropos, and Lachesis!
This piece was on exhibition this past summer and fall and I finally got a chance to scan it. I’ve seen many wonderful interpretations of death and the Fates from Greek Mythology, and I wanted to try my hand at capturing them. Snip snip snip! These ladies were a fun prompt for character design.
Prints available at my Society6 store :)
Audrey Benjaminsen 2016
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✧ Greek mythology ✧ the Moirai, Hades and Persephone, Aphrodite and Dionysos.
♥♥♥ All the prints are now available on my shop ♥♥♥ : https://www.etsy.com/fr/shop/Yliade
Thanks for viewing !
All rights reserved. Please don’t use or edit my work in any way without my permission, thank you.
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Mosaic of the birth of Achilles , Nea Paphos, Cyprus, 5th century.
The mosaic was found in 1970-1971 during the Polish excavations at Nea Paphos on the south coast of Cyprus. It is located in the central reception hall of a late Roman palace; except for a large lacuna in the center and a smaller one along the bottom, it is in good condition.
The subject is the birth of Achilles. In the center Thetis reclines majestically on a couch. A nurse labeled Anatrophe (“Education”) kneels at the left, holding out the newborn babe. Under the couch is a basin of water, in which he will be bathed, and at the left side of the scene a woman called Ambrosia (misspelled “Anbrosia”) approaches with a pitcher. Next to Thetis is the somewhat smaller figure of Peleus, the father, enthroned and holding a scepter. Behind him and further to the right are the three Moirai, or Fates: Clotho, holding the spindle and distaff with the thread of life; Lachesis, with the tablet in which is inscribed Achilles’ life; and Atropos, holding the scroll of eternity. All of the figures look outward at the beholder, even the little Achilles. Their gazes are severe, almost expressionless. The drapery is angular and simplified. Spatial relationships are suppressed, and the figures seem to float against the neutral background, their feet hovering above the undulating groundline. This Late Antique style is also seen in a mosaic from Soueidie, near Ba'albek, where the subject of one scene is the birth of Alexander. Archaeological evidence points to a date in the early fifth century for this mosaic.
This is the fullest surviving version of the birth of Achilles; Peleus, the Fates, and the woman Ambrosia are not found elsewhere, although the central group of Thetis, nurse, and Achilles is similar to the birth scene in other pieces. The washing of the newborn child is common in other birth scenes (as in the Soueidie Alexander mosaic) and was adopted with few changes for the Christian nativity. The presence of the woman Ambrosia may allude to an old story that held that Thetis anointed Achilles with ambrosia to make him immortal. The Fates are in attendance because a new life is beginning; they also appear in a birth scene on a recently discovered child’s sarcophagus in Sicily (Museo Nazionale Agrigento). Their presence also reminds us of the brevity of Achilles’ life and of his mother’s vain efforts to defy his fate.
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A commission from @pale-horse-writing! As much as I mock this character I loved working on him!
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Finally completed another Flash Fiction Friday! Continuing the MOIRAI/returning to ithaca series (which can be found collected here) with a sequel to and miles to go before i sleep.@flashfictionfridayofficial
tw: mentions of violence, drug usage, mentions of substance use issues
FFF: The Big City
–
Holy. Shit. He hates. Cornfields.
He never thought he could hold a grudge against a plant that hard but sure enough, he can and he does- enough so that when he finally sees the sign welcoming him to Pennsylvania, a palpable shudder of relief runs through his shoulders. No one’s fucking heard of a corn field in Pennsylvania. What the fuck do they even grow in Pennsylvania-
Apparently corn.
And after thatstream of curses, his knuckles bone white as he grips the steering wheel like he’s strangling it, he thinks maybe he should stop for the day. He hasn’t been sleeping well. Call it excitement or panic or the beginnings (beginnings?) of a nervous breakdown, but he’s got maybe five minutes over the course of the past twenty-four hours. He needs to calm down. He needs to think through his next moves very carefully, because rushing into things landed him in fucking cornfield hell shitfuck nowhere Iowa and the stakes are alothigher now.
Pull over for the time being. If you can’t sleep, at least take one of your pills and just calm down. He thinks that through and nods and then it’s pulling to the side of an obnoxiously scenic road, his palms pressed hard to his eyes once the car’s off.
Fuck. He can’t act like he doesn’t know what he’s doing at this point, because he does. He’s done exactly one job for the past twenty odd years and he’s doing it here too- making people in his way get out of his way. And, well, he knows exactly who’s in his way here because if it was himwith a six year old daughter, a husband, and some lunatic trying to see them then-
Well, if he had all that, he wouldn’t be in this position first off. But anyways, he’d totally kill that guy.
So that’s that. See your daughter. See your husband. Take care of the hypotenuse to this sick little love triangle. And pray to Christ that whoever the MOIRAI send after you, it’s not someone you trained because that might actually be a problem.
Yeah. Good plan.
And he very pointedly does notthink about what’s next after that because well- he already knows he can’t win. There’s no way out now and no point thinking about that because if he does, he’s going to fall apart entirely. So instead he lets his hands slip down off his eyes, his head pounding, and he thanks god that the asshole he took the car from packed Capri-Suns like a motherfucker because dry swallowing oxy sucks-
One tablet and a sigh and he leans the driver’s seat back. He’s got time. It takes longer by mouth, but there’s no way he wants to fuck up his veins. He lets his mind drift, his eyes shut and the afternoon sun coming through the car’s sun roof, and he considers that it’s a four hour drive from here to there. Maybe five with traffic. Not long at all now.
He should clean up first.
There’s that little piece of him now that wants to make a good impression- that desperate, unhinged voice saying maybe it can work, maybe maybe maybe even as what remains of his logic screams that you can’t fucking kill someone and expect their spouse and kid to love you, even if youare him. Even if you’re a better him. A him who doesn’t bother to hide those little white pills, a him who would be honest because they deserve to know-
A better husband. A better Akihiro, though his birth name barely registers as his own anymore. The man he’s going to kill is Akihiro. And he’s-
He hesitates, because he’s never had the chance to pick his own name. Akihiro. ATROPOS. They were both handed to him by someone else. They both ring hollow now. Neither is him, because he’s-
He is Odysseus. Returning home to Ithaca.
That feels right.
And so Odysseus rests, numbed to sleep, and he dreams about a city and a daughter and a better life waiting for him.
A shorter Flash Fiction Friday this week because I’m not feeling too well- this time for the prompt “Foul Play”. This is a continuation of my series of FFFs, so I’d recommend reading the firsttwo parts first! Regardless, it’s introducing a new character into the lovely story of Odysseus, interdimensional assassin.
tw: implied violence, suicidal-ish language
FFF: Foul Play
–
There’s a place for everything and everything in its place.
That’s what Arachne thinks, what he hums as he plucks at the strings of fate- metaphorically, of course. For all their power, their grand title of MOIRAI, they’re simply human after all. He guides events, but not by any sort of divine decree.
It’s just a matter of knowing things.
Like knowing that if someone were to slash the tires on a certain senator’s car, then he’d most certainly be late to his next appointment. He would not be present when a disheveled, gun-weilding man with an axe to grind against his policies on healthcare was present, and he would evade assassination, allowing him to run for re-election. And from there, other waves- changes, ripples, until a proper outcome was achieved. The best outcome.
All Arachne has to do is pick up his communicator, his delicate fingers tapping a message:
HALC-1988, JUNE 12 ‘92, SENATOR WONG- CUT TIRES 0827.
And then it’s off- someone else’s problem, whether they send an ATROPOS or a CLOTHO. He muses that the second is more likely. No one has to die for this to succeed. But that’s one issue solved, another thing in its place as he lies back in his chair idly and stares at his dozens upon hundreds of screens.
One particular screen is an issue today. HALC-2090.
A twenty-nine year old man was found dead this morning by Iowa 1, south of Kalona. Foul play. His wife reported him missing about four days ago after he didn’t return home from his job at a local twenty four hour convenience store. There’s tears and pleas for justice and if it weren’t for other recent events, he’d have already dismissed this.
He doesn’t care that some hick got his facial bones radically rearranged via 9 mm, but he does care that his car’s missing. He cares that their nasty little issue left behind some scribbled gibberish resembling math in that crypt that once was an apartment and that that math, second rate as it may be, points towards lucky number HALC-2090, about thirty miles southwest of Kalona.
It’s disgusting. Inelegant. Completely unlike their organization, but what does he really expect from a man whose idea of fine dining was ordering from thenicepizza joint for a change? Honestly, Arachne can barely believe that they’re somehow alternates of each other sometimes.
But they are. Two sides of the same coin, two branching paths of the same individual, and he sighs as he tucks a long strand of bone white hair behind his ear and thinks through how to handle this one.
He hates when it’s one of them that’s an issue. It’s always messier.
Arachne holds his coffee close, his eyes set on the screen, and considers how best kill himself before things get out of hand here.
