Moire
Le tre Moire, assimilate anche alle Parche romane e alle Norne norrene, sono figure appartenenti alla mitologia greca. Nella Teogonia di Esiodo compaiono due volte: come figlie della Notte e come figlie di Zeus e Temi, erano la personificazione del destino ineluttabile. Il loro compito era tessere il filo del fato di ogni uomo, svolgerlo ed infine reciderlo segnandone la morte.
Il mito
Moire è il nome dato alle figlie di Zeus e di Temi o secondo altri di Ananke. L’accostamento, nel primo Inno pindarico delle Moire, di Temi e di Zeus fa pensare alla testimonianza di Pausania (Paus. 9, 12, 3-4), secondo la quale a Tebe vi erano un santuario dedicato a Temi e uno alle Moire posti accanto a quello di Zeus Agoraios che conteneva una statua del dio in pietra".Nella mitologia greca arcaica "le tre Moire, le tessitrici della vita, decidevano, al momento della nascita, il destino assegnato a ogni persona. Neppure gli dei potevano modificarlo. Cloto reggeva il filo dei giorni per la tela della vita, Làchesi dispensava la sorte avvolgendo al fuso il filo che a ciascuno era assegnato e infine Atropo, l’inesorabile, che lo tagliava con le forbici quando giungeva il momento di arrestare la vita, attribuendo il principio e la fine del tempo della vita, la nascita e la morte". "Spesso nel mito le Moire sono presenti alla nascita di un dio o di un eroe, presagendone le imprese future oppure decretandone il destino"
I nomi
I nomi delle moire avevano un significato specifico:- Cloto, che in greco antico significa "io filo", che appunto filava lo stame della vita.
- Lachesi, che significa "destino", che lo avvolgeva sul fuso e stabiliva quanto filo spettasse a ogni uomo.
- Atropo, che significa "inflessibile", che, con lucide cesoie, lo recideva, inesorabile.
Si tratta di tre donne dall'aspetto di vecchie che dimoravano nel regno dei morti, l'Ade.
Il sensibile distacco che si avverte da parte di queste figure e la loro totale indifferenza per la vita degli uomini accentuava e rappresentava perfettamente la mentalità fatalistica degli antichi greci.
Pindaro, in epoca più tarda, le indicò invece come le ancelle di Temi, durante il suo matrimonio con Zeus.
Esse agivano spesso contro la volontà di Zeus. Ma tutti gli dei erano tenuti all'obbedienza nei loro confronti, in quanto la loro esistenza garantiva l'ordine dell'universo, al quale anche gli dei erano soggetti.
Nonostante molti pensino che le Moire avessero un solo occhio e che se lo passassero vicendevolmente, come nel film di animazione Disney Hercules, bisogna dire che si tratta di una convinzione errata. Questa caratteristica, infatti, è propria delle Graie, come si può ben notare nel mito di Perseo, dove queste ultime vengono descritte con un solo occhio e un solo dente, dei quali fanno uso a turno. E sarà proprio questa loro debolezza che permetterà a Perseo di scoprire il nascondiglio delle Gorgoni.
Citazioni
| «Notte poi partorì l'odioso Moros e Ker nera e Thanatos, generò il Sonno, generò la stirpe dei Sogni; non giacendo con alcuno li generò la dea Notte oscura; e le Esperidi che, al di là dell'inclito Oceano, dei pomi aurei e belli hanno cura e degli alberi che il frutto ne portano; e le Moire e le Kere generò spietate nel dar le pene: Cloto e Lachesi e Atropo, che ai mortali quando son nati danno da avere il bene e il male, che di uomini e dei i delitti perseguono; né mai le dee cessano dalla terribile ira prima d'aver inflitto terribile pena, a chiunque abbia peccato.» |
| (Teogonia di Esiodo, vv. 211-222) |
| «Per seconda sposò la splendida Thémis, che generò le Ore (Eunomie, Dike ed Eirene fiorente) che vegliano sulle opere dei mortali; e le Moire, cui grande onore diede Zeús prudente: Cloto, Lachesi e Atropo, che concedono agli uomini il bene e il male.» |
| (Teogonia di Esiodo, vv. 900-906) |
| «Ma perché lei che dì e notte fila, non gli avea tratta ancora la conocchia, che Cloto impone a ciascuno e compila...» |
| (Divina Commedia, Purgatorio, Canto XXI, 25-27) |
In Ultimo canto di Saffo (vv. 40-44), Leopardi dice: "In che peccai bambina, allor che ignara / di misfatto è la vita, onde poi scemo / di giovanezza, e disfiorato, al fuso / dell'indomita Parca si volvesse / il ferrigno mio stame?". La Parca in questione dovrebbe essere Lachesi.
Nella cultura di massa
- Il rapper Italiano Enigma nelle sue canzoni “Manifesto” e “Malapoetry XXI” le cita in una rima e ad esse è intitolato l'omonimo album degli Hautville del 2013.
- Gli Emerson, Lake & Palmer hanno composto, nel loro omonimo disco del 1970, una canzone divisa in tre parti dal nome: The Three Fates : I-Clotho, II-Lachesis, III-Atropos.
- Sono protagoniste, come "dottorini calvi", ma con esattamente gli stessi nomi e funzioni, del romanzo Insomnia di Stephen King.
- Alle moire è intitolata la Moira Tessera su Venere.
- Compaiono all'interno del videogioco God of War II, nel quale tenteranno di fermare Kratos, che vuole tornare indietro nel tempo per uccidere Zeus.
- Con il nome romano, le Parche sono presenti anche nel film d'animazione Hercules della Disney uscito nel 1997. Nel film, esse sono rappresentate con un paio di forbici per tagliare il filo della vita e conoscono il passato, il presente ed il futuro così bene che riescono ad anticipare le frasi di Ade, mandando questi fuori dai gangheri. Saranno proprio loro a rivelare ad Ade il breve successo del suo piano della conquista dell'Olimpo a causa del figlio di Zeus, Hercules, che lo spodesterebbe nel caso Ade riuscisse a sconfiggere il fratello.
Citazioni sulle Moire
- Altre tre donne sedevano in cerchio a uguale distanza, ciascuna sul proprio trono: erano le Moire figlie di Ananke, Lachesi, Cloto e Atropo, vestite di bianco e col capo cinto di bende; sull'armonia delle Sirene Lachesi cantava il passato, Cloto il presente, Atropo il futuro. (Platone)
- – Chi governa la necessità?
– Le Moire che tessono il filo e le Erinni dalla memoria implacabile.
– E Zeus è più debole di loro?
– Anche Zeus non può sfuggire a ciò che è destinato. (Eschilo) - Ma perché lei che dì e notte fila | non li avea tratta ancora la conocchia | che Cloto impone a ciascuno e compila (Dante Alighieri, Divina Commedia)
- Poi Momo partorí, la sempre dogliosa Miseria, | l'Espèridi, che cura, di là dall'immenso Oceàno, | hanno degli aurei pomi, degli alberi gravi di frutti, | e le dogliose Moire, che infliggono crudi tormenti, | Atropo, Cloto e Lachesi, che a tutte le genti mortali | il bene, appena a luce venute, compartono e il male, | e dei trascorsi le pene agli uomini infliggono e ai Numi. | Né dallo sdegno tremendo desistono mai queste Dive, | prima che infliggano a ognuno la pena com'esso ha fallito. (Esiodo)
- Sposò la molle Tèmi seconda, che a luce die' l'Ore, | Dice, con Eunomía, con Pace possente — su l'opre | esse a vegliare sempre degli uomini stanno — e le Parche, | a cui massimo onore concesse il Croníde: Lachèsi | Atropo e Cloto: il bene partiscono agli uomini e il male. (Esiodo)
sconosciuto - sconosciuta
The Triumph of Death, or The 3 Fates. Flemish tapestry (probably Brussels, ca. 1510-1520). Victoria and Albert Museum, London. The three fates, Clotho, Lachesis and Atropos, who spin, draw out and cut the thread of Life, represent Death in this tapestry, as they triumph over the fallen body of Chastity. This is the third subject in Petrarch's poem The Triumphs. First, Love triumphs; then Love is overcome by Chastity, Chastity by Death, Death by Fame, Fame by Time and Time by Eternity.
Parche
««Ma perché lei che dì e notte fila,non gli avea tratta ancora la conocchia,
che Cloto impone a ciascuno e compila…»»
(Divina Commedia, Purgatorio, Canto XXI, 25-27)Le Parche (in latino Parcae), nella mitologia romana, sono il corrispettivo delle Moire greche, assimilabili anche alle Norne norrene.
Nome e mito
- In origine si trattava di una divinità singola, Parca, dea tutelatrice della nascita. Successivamente le furono aggiunte Nona e Decima, che presiedevano agli ultimi mesi di gravidanza; infine fu cambiato il nome della Parca in Morta.
La prima filava il filo della vita; la seconda dispensava i destini, assegnandone uno a ogni individuo stabilendone anche la durata; la terza, l'inesorabile, tagliava il filo della vita al momento stabilito. Le loro decisioni erano immutabili: neppure gli dèi potevano cambiarle. Venivano chiamate anche Fatae, ovvero coloro che presiedono al Fato (dal latino Fatum ovvero "destino").
Nel Fòro, in loro onore, erano state realizzate tre statue, chiamate tria Fata ("i tre destini").
Nella letteratura
Le Parche appaiono nel carme Dei Sepolcri (1807) di Foscolo «[...] E un incalzar di cavalli accorrenti / Scalpitanti su egli elmi a' moribondi, / E pianto, ed inni, e delle Parche il canto» (vv. 210 - 212). Questo avviene quando l'autore immagina un «navigante» contemplare la guerra combattutasi tra i greci guidati da Milziade e i persiani; mentre la guerra è in atto, il navigante sente il canto delle Parche, e le vede tagliare il filo della vita dei soldati achei. Foscolo così spiega: «Le Parche cantando vaticinavano le sorti degli uomini nascenti e de' morenti».Nella cultura di massa
Le Parche appaiono anche nel film d'animazione Disney Hercules sotto forma di orribili vecchie. Possiedono un paio di forbici per tagliare il filo della vita esattamente come le Parche mitologiche e un solo occhio che condividono a turno, come le Graie.Una delle tre Parche ovvero Atropo, nei panni del Fato, compare nell' episodio "Il mito del Titanic" Titolo originale My Heart Will Go On della serie televisiva statunitense "Supernatural". Nell' universo di Supernatural viene chiamata Atropos.
Le tre Parche sono anche tre boss del videogioco God of War 2.
Le tre Parche di Bernardo Strozzi
prima del 1664
Norne
Il termine Norna deriva dall'antico Norreno "Norn" (Nornir al plurale) che significa "[colei che] bisbiglia [un segreto]", esse vivono presso la fonte di Urðarbrunnr, ove tessono il filo del destino o, a seconda delle fonti, incidono le rune:| (NON)
«Þaðan koma meyiar margs vitandi þríar ór þeim sæ, es und þolli stendr; Urð hétu eina, aðra Verðandi, skáru á skíði, Skuld ena þriðiu. Þær lög lögðu, þær líf köru, alda börnum, örlög seggia.» |
(IT)
«Da quel luogo vengono fanciulle di molta saggezza, tre, da quelle acque che sotto l'albero si stendono. Ha nome Urðr la prima, Verðandi l'altra (sopra una tavola incidono rune), Skuld quella ch'è terza. Queste decidono la legge, queste scelgono la vita per i viventi nati, le sorti degli uomini.» |
| (Edda poetica - Völuspá - Profezia della Veggente XX) |
Nell'Edda vengono descritte anche come intagliatrici di Rune, che incidono su assicelle e tavolette, forse per trascrivere le diverse vite delle creature dell'universo, infatti si dice che nella trama del destino sono tessute le Rune.
Al loro potere sul destino si fa risalire la ragione per cui sull'unghia della Norna sono incise le Rune ("segreti sussurrati").
Le Norne stabilivano il destino degli uomini, lo svolgimento della vita delle creature dell'universo, nessuno escluso: uomini, animali, piante, esseri sovrannaturali, persino le divinità erano sottoposte al criterio delle Norne, le uniche creature che veramente possono essere definite "eterne" nella cosmogonia dei popoli nordici. Peculiare della mentalità nordica era, infatti, che tutto avesse una fine, e che nulla fosse eterno, neanche gli dei che infatti sono destinati a perire nel Ragnarǫk. L'unica cosa eterna è il Destino, che era appunto gestito dall'operato delle tre Norne.
Delle Norne si parla sempre al plurale e compaiono molto spesso in diversi passi della poesia eddica e scaldica, prevalentemente nella loro figura di Norne ostili che stabiliscono un destino di sfortuna e morte, seppur non manchino riferimenti anche al loro lato positivo. Questo perché rappresentano le dee del destino, incarnazione di un fato superiore e ineluttabile che tutto sovrasta, uomini e dei che siano.
Nel "Dialogo di Fáfnir" si precisa come esse siano di diversa natura, alcune appartenenti agli Æsir, altre ai Vanir, altre ancora agli Elfi, poiché vengono descritte come un gruppo numeroso di divinità dal carattere indistinto. Solamente Snorri nella Vǫluspá ne definisce solo tre di suddetto gruppo, che dimorano presso l'Albero Cosmico, Yggdrasil, accanto alla fonte del destino, Urðarbrunnr. Queste tre Norne ricordano molto non solo le Parche romane, ma anche le Moire greche. Solo Urðr, il cui nome significa "destino", è la più anziana; Verðandi risulta essere infatti una figura ben più tarda e il suo nome deriva dal verbo "verða" "divenire". Skuld, definita da Snorri la più giovane, porta con sé il significato di "debito", "colpa" e viene nominata anche nella schiera delle Valchirie. Il legame tra le Norne e le Valchirie viene sottolineato anche in un passo del "Dialogo di Fáfnir", dove si dice che i lupi sono i "cani delle Norne" poiché pongono fine a molte vite; nello stesso passo si evince anche il legame tra le Norne e le Dísir.
La credenza nelle Norne era così fortemente radicata nel mondo e nella cultura nordici, che in alcune saghe la venerazione di esse viene indicata tra le consuetudini a cui doveva rinunciare chi si convertiva al cristianesimo.
Nella cultura moderna
Nel manga Oh, mia dea!, le norne rivestono un ruolo principale. Degno di nota è il nome di una delle protagoniste, Belldandy, tale nome infatti deriva da quello della norna Verðandi ed ha subito tale cambiamento a causa della traslitterazione prima da norreno a giapponese, con risultato Berudandī (ベルダンディー), e poi nuovamente dal giapponese in caratteri occidentali. Il nome delle altre due sorelle di Belldandy è infatti Urd e Skuld. La prima si occupa di chimica e pozioni e la seconda invece ama la meccanica e si ingegna spesso a costruire strani marchingegni.In La spada del guerriero, primo libro della saga Magnus Chase e gli dei di Asgard, le Norne predicono il futuro di Magnus.
Influenza culturale
Alle norne sono intitolate le Norna Tesserae su Venere.
Le norne tessono i fili del destino ai piedi di Yggdrasill, il grande frassino.
The Norns spin their tapestry at the roots of Yggdrasil.
Moirai
In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Moirai or Moerae (/ˈmɔɪraɪ,They controlled the mother thread of life of every mortal from birth to death. They 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. The gods and men had to submit to them, although Zeus's relationship with them is a matter of debate: some sources say he can command them (the Zeus Moiragetes), yet others suggest he was also bound to the Moirai's dictates.
In the Homeric poems Moira or Aisa, is related with the limit and end of life, and Zeus appears as the guider of destiny. In the Theogony of Hesiod, the three Moirai are personified, daughters of Nyx and are acting over the gods. Later they are daughters of Zeus and Themis, who was the embodiment of divine order and law. In Plato's Republic the Three Fates are daughters of Ananke (necessity).
It seems that Moira is related with Tekmor (proof, ordinance) and with Ananke (destiny, necessity), who were primeval goddesses in mythical cosmogonies. The ancient Greek writers might call this power Moira or Ananke, and even the gods could not alter what was ordained :
"To the Moirai (Moirae, Fates) the might of Zeus must bow; and by the Immortals' purpose all these things had come to pass, or by the Moirai's ordinance."
The concept of a universal principle of natural order has been compared to similar concepts in other cultures like the Vedic Rta, the Avestan Asha (Arta) and the Egyptian Maat.
In earliest Greek philosophy, the cosmogony of Anaximander is based on these mythical beliefs. The goddess Dike (justice, divine retribution), keeps the order and sets a limit to any actions.
Etymology
The ancient Greek word moira (μοῖρα) means a portion or lot of the whole, and is related to meros, "part, lot" and moros, "fate, doom", Latin meritum, "reward", English merit, derived from the PIE root *(s)mer, "to allot, assign".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., The word is also used for something which is meet and right (κατὰ μοῖραν, katà moîran, "according to fate, in order, rightly")
It seems that originally the word moira did not indicate destiny but included ascertainment or proof, a non-abstract certainty. The word daemon, which was an agent related to unexpected events, came to be similar to the word moira. This agent or cause against human control might be also called tyche (chance, fate): "You mistress moira, and tyche, and my daemon "
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". The word dike, "justice", conveyed the notion that someone should stay within his own specified boundaries, respecting the ones of his neighbour. If someone broke his boundaries, thus getting more than his ordained part, then he would be punished by law. By extension, moira was one's portion or part in destiny which consisted of good and bad moments as was predetermined by the Moirai (Fates), 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 the Muslim traditions, seems to have a similar etymology and function: Arabic qismat "lot" qasama, "to divide, allot" developed to mean Fate or destiny. As a loanword, qesmat 'fate' appears in Persian, whence in Urdu language, and eventually in English Kismet.
The three Moirai
When they were three, the Moirai were:- Clotho (/ˈkloʊθoʊ/, Greek Κλωθώ [klɔːˈtʰɔː] – "spinner") spun the thread of life from her Distaff onto her Spindle. Her Roman equivalent was Nona, (the 'Ninth'), who was originally a goddess called upon in the ninth month of pregnancy.
- Lachesis (/ˈlækɪsɪs/, Greek Λάχεσις [ˈlakʰesis] – "allotter" or drawer of lots) measured the thread of life allotted to each person with her measuring rod. Her Roman equivalent was Decima (the 'Tenth').
- Atropos (/ˈætrəpɒs/, Greek Ἄτροπος [ˈatropos] – "inexorable" or "inevitable", literally "unturning", sometimes called Aisa) was the cutter of the thread of life. She chose the manner of each person's death; and when their time was come, she cut their life-thread with "her abhorred shears". Her Roman equivalent was Morta ('Dead One').
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-bosomed Lawfulness, and her sisters on glittering thrones,
Right and crowned Peace, and make this city forget the misfortunes which lie heavily on her heart.
Origins
In ancient times caves were used for burial purposes in eastern Mediterranean, along with underground shrines or temples. The priests and the priestesses had considerable influence upon the world of the living. Births are recorded in such shrines, and the Greek legend of conception and birth in the tomb – as in the story of Danae- is based on the ancient belief that the dead know the future. Such caves were the caves of Ida and Dikte mountains in Crete, where myth situates the birth of Zeus and other gods, and the cave of Eileithyia near Knossos. The relative Minoan goddesses were named Diktynna (later identified with Artemis), who was a mountain nymph of hunting, and Eileithyia who was the goddess of childbirth.It seems that in Pre-Greek religion Aisa was a daemon. In Mycenean religion Aisa or Moira was originally a living power related with the limit and end of life. At the moment of birth she spins the destiny, because birth ordains death. Later Aisa is not alone, but she is accompanied by the "Spinners", who are the personifications of Fate. The act of spinning is also associated with the gods, who at birth and at marriage do not spin the thread of life, but individual events like destruction, return or good fortune. Everything which has been spun must be winded on the spindle, and this was considered a cloth, like a net or loop which captured man.
Invisible bonds and knots could be controlled from a loom, and twining was a magic art used by the magicians to harm a person, and control his individual fate. Similar ideas appear in Norse mythology, and in Greek folklore. The appearance of the gods and the Moirai may be related to the fairy tale motif, which is common in many Indo-European sagas and also in Greek folklore. The fairies appear beside the cradle of the newborn child and bring gifts to him.
Temple attendants may be considered representations of the Moirai, who belonged to the underworld, but secretly guided the lives of those in the upperworld. Their power could be sustained by witchcraft and oracles. In Greek mythology the Moirai at birth are accompanied by Eileithyia. At the birth of Hercules they use together a magic art, to free the newborn from any "bonds" and "knots".
The Homeric Moira
Much of the Mycenean religion survived into classical Greece, but it is not known to what extent Greek religious belief is Mycenean, nor how much is a product of the Greek Dark Ages or later. M.Finley detected only few authentic Mycenean beliefs in the 8th-century Homeric world. The religion which later the Greeks considered Hellenic embodies a paradox. Though the world is dominated by a divine power bestowed in different ways on men, nothing but "darkness" lay ahead. Life was frail and unsubstantial, and man was like "a shadow in a dream".In the Homeric poems the words moira, aisa, moros mean "portion, part". Originally they did not indicate a power which led destiny, and must be considered to include the "ascertainment" or "proof". By extension Moira is the portion in glory, happiness, mishappenings, death (μοίρα θανάτοιο: destiny of death) which are unexpected events. The unexpected events were usually attributed to daemons, who appeared in special occurrences. In that regard Moira was later considered an agent, like the daemon of Pre-Greek religion.
People believed that their portion in destiny was something similar with their portion in booty, which was distributed according to their descent, and traditional rules. It was possible to get more than their ordained portion (moira), but they had to face severe consequences because their action was "over moira" (υπέρ μοίραν:over the portion). It may be considered that they "broke the order". The most certain order in human lives is that every human should die, and this was determined by Aisa or Moira at the moment of birth. The Myceneans believed that what comes should come (fatalism), and this was considered rightly offered (according to fate: in order). If someone died in battle, he would exist like a shadow in the gloomy space of the underworld.
The kingdom of Moira is the kingdom of the limit and the end. In a passage in Iliad, Apollo tries three times to stop Patroclus in front of the walls of Troy, warning him that it is "over his portion" to sack the city. Aisa (moira) seems to set a limit on the most vigorous men's actions.
Moira is a power acting in parallel with the gods, and even they could not change the destiny which was predetermined. In the Iliad, Zeus knows that his dearest Sarpedon will be killed by Patroclus, but he cannot save him. In the famous scene of Kerostasia, Zeus the chief-deity of the Myceneans appears as the guider of destiny. Using a pair of scales he decides that Hector must die, according to his aisa (destiny). His decision seems to be independent from his will, and is not related with any "moral purpose". His attitude is explained by Achilleus to Priam, in a parable of two jars at the door of Zeus, one of which contains good things, and the other evil. Zeus gives a mixture to some men, to others only evil and such are driven by hunger over the earth. This was the old "heroic outlook".
The personification of Moira appears in the newer parts of the epos. In Odyssey, she is accompanied by the "Spinners", the personifications of Fate, who do not have separate names. Moira seems to spin the predetermined course of events. Agamemnon claims that he is not responsible for his arrogance. He took the prize of Achilleus, because Zeus and Moira predetermined his decision. In the last section of Iliad, Moira is the "mighty fate" (μοίρα κραταιά:moira krataia) who leads destiny and the course of events. Thetis the mother of Achilleus warns him that he will not live long because mighty fate stands hard by him, therefore he must give to Priam the corpse of Hector. At Hector’s birth mighty fate predetermined that his corpse would be devoured by dogs after his death, and Hecabe is crying desperately asking for revenge.
Mythical cosmogonies
The three Moirai are daughters of the primeval goddess Nyx (Night), and sisters of Keres (black Fates), Thanatos (Death) and Nemesis (retribution). Later they are daughters of Zeus and the Titaness Themis (the "Institutor"), who was the embodiment of divine order and law. and sisters of Eunomia (lawfulness, order), Dike (Justice), and Eirene (Peace)Hesiod introduces a moral purpose which is absent in the Homeric poems. The Moirai represent a power to which even the gods have to conform. They give men at birth both evil and good moments, and they punish not only men but also gods for their sins.
In the cosmogony of Alcman (7th century BC), first came Thetis (Disposer, Creation), and then simultaneously Poros (path) and Tekmor (end post, ordinance). Poros is related with the beginning of all things, and Tekmor is related with the end of all things.
Later in the Orphic cosmogony, first came Thesis (Disposer), whose ineffable nature is unexpressed. Ananke (necessity) is the primeval goddess of inevitability who is entwined with the time-god Chronos, at the very beginning of time. They represented the cosmic forces of Fate and Time, and they were called sometimes to control the fates of the gods. The three Moirai are daughters of Ananke.
Mythology
The Moirai 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. Bruce Karl Braswell from readings in the lexicon of Hesychius, associates the appearance of the Moirai 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 Moirai stood near the communal hearth of the polis, as Pausanias observed.As goddesses of birth who even prophesied 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. Their appearance indicate the Greek desire for health which was connected with the Greek cult of the body that was essentially a religious activity.
The Moirai assigned to the terrible chthonic goddesses Erinyes who inflicted the punishment for evil deeds 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.In earlier times they were represented as only a few—perhaps only one—individual goddess. Homer's Iliad (xxiv.209) speaks generally of the Moira, who spins the thread of life for men at their birth; she is Moira Krataia "powerful Moira" (xvi.334) or there are several Moirai (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. 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).
Some Greek mythographers went so far as to claim that the Moirai were the daughters of Zeus—paired with Themis ("Fundament"), as Hesiod had it in one passage. In the older myths they are daughters of primeval beings like Nyx ("Night") in Theogony, or Ananke ("Necessity") in Orphic cosmogony. Whether or not providing a father even for the Moirai 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, the claim of a paternity was certainly not acceptable to Aeschylus, Herodotus, or Plato.
Despite their forbidding reputation, the Moirai 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.
According to the mythographer Apollodorus, in the Gigantomachy, the war between the Giants and Olympians, the Moirai killed the Giants Agrios and Thoon with their bronze clubs.
Zeus and the Moirai
In the Homeric poems Moira, who is almost always one, is acting independently from the gods. Only Zeus, the chief sky-deity of the Myceneans is close to Moira, and in a passage he is the being of this power. Using a weighing scale (balance) Zeus weighs Hector's "lot of death" (Ker) 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.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 offered (according to fate).
In Theogony, the three Moirai are daughters of the primeval goddess, Nyx ("Night"), representing a power acting over the gods. Later they are daughters of Zeus who gives them the greatest honour, and Themis, the ancient goddess of law and divine order.
Even the gods feared the Moirai or Fates, which according to Herodotus a god could not escape. 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 Moirai 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. Simonides names this power Ananke (necessity) (the mother of the Moirai in Orphic cosmogony) and says that even the gods don't fight against it. Aeschylus combines Fate and necessity in a scheme, and claims that even Zeus cannot alter which is ordained.
A supposed epithet Zeus Moiragetes, meaning "Zeus Leader of the Moirai" 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. 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." At the Temple of Zeus at Megara, Pausanias inferred from the relief sculptures he saw "Above the head of Zeus are the Horai and Moirai, 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 Moirai 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.
Cult and temples
The fates had at least three known temples, in Ancient Corinth, Sparta and Thebes. At least the temple of Corinth contained statues of them:- "[On the Akropolis (Acropolis) of Korinthos (Corinth) :] The temple of the Moirai (Moirae, Fates) and that of Demeter and Kore (Core) [Persephone] have images that are not exposed to view."
- "Along the road from the Neistan gate [at Thebes in Boiotia (Boeotia)] are three sanctuaries. There is a sanctuary of Themis, with an image of white marble; adjoining it is a sanctuary of the Moirai (Moirae, Fates), while the third is of Agoraios (Agoreus, of the Market) Zeus. Zeus is made of stone; the Moirai (Moirae, Fates) have no images."
Aside from actual temples, there was also altars to the Moirai. Among them was notably the altar in Olympia near the altar of Zeus Moiragetes, a connection to Zeus which was also repeated in the images of the Moirai in the temple of Despoine in Arkadia as well as in Delphi, where they were depicted with Zeus Moiragetes (Guide of Fate) as well as with Apollon Moiragetes (Guide of Fate). On Korkyra, the shrine of Apollo which was legendary founded by Medea was also a place on which offerings where made to the Moirai and the nymphs. The worship of the Moirai are described by Pausanias for their altar near Sicyon:
- "On the direct road from Sikyon (Sicyon) to Phlios (Phlius) . . . At a distance along it, in my opinion, of twenty stades, to the left on the other side of the Asopos [river], is a grove of holm oaks and a temple of the goddesses named by the Athenians the Semnai (August), and by the Sikyonians the Eumenides (Kindly Ones). On one day in each year they celebrate a festival to them and offer sheep big with young as a burnt offering, and they are accustomed to use a libation of honey and water, and flowers instead of garlands. They practise similar rites at the altar of the Moirai (Moirae, Fates); it is in an open space in the grove."
Cross-cultural parallels
Europe
In Roman mythology the three Moirai are the Parcae or Fata, plural of "fatum" meaning prophetic declaration, oracle, or destiny. The English words fate (native wyrd) and fairy (magic, enchantment), are both derived from "fata", "fatum" .
In Norse mythology the Norns are female beings who rule the destiny of gods and men, twining the thread of life. They set up the laws and decided on the lives of the children of men. Their names were Urðr, related with Wyrd, weird (fate), Verðandi, and Skuld, and it has often been inferred that they ruled over the past, present and future respectively, based on the sequence and partly the etymology of the names, of which the first two (literally 'Fate' and 'Becoming') are derived from the past and present stems of the verb verða, "to be", respectively, and the name of the third one means 'Debt' or 'Guilt', originally 'That which must happen'.
In younger legendary sagas, the Norns appear to have been synonymous with witches (Völvas), and they arrive at the birth of the hero to shape his destiny. It seems that originally all of them were Disir, ghosts or deities associated with destruction and destiny. The notion that they were three may be due to a late influence from Greek and Roman mythology. The same applies to their (disputed) association with the past, present and future.
The Valkyries (choosers of the slain), were originally daemons of death. They were female figures who decided who will die in battle, and brought their chosen to the afterlife hall of the slain. They were also related with spinning, and one of them was named Skuld (debt, guilt). They may be related to Keres, the daemons of death in Greek mythology, who accompanied the dead to the entrance of Hades. In the scene of Kerostasie Keres are the "lots of death", and in some cases Ker (destruction) has the same meaning, with Moira interpreted as "destiny of death"
" (moira thanatoio :μοίρα θανάτοιο) .
The Celtic Matres and Matrones, female deities almost entirely in a group of three, have been proposed as connected to the Norns and the Valkyries.
In Anglo-Saxon culture Wyrd (Weird) is a concept corresponding to fate or personal destiny (literally: what befalls one). Its Norse cognate is Urðr, and both names are deriven from the PIE root wert, "to turn, wind", related with "spindle, distaff". In Old English literature Wyrd goes ever as she shall, and remains wholly inevitable.
In Shakespeare's Macbeth, the Weird sisters (or Three Witches), are prophetesses, who are deeply entrenched in both worlds of reality and supernatural. Their creation was influenced by British folklore, witchcraft, and the legends of the Norns and the Moirai. Hecate, the chthonic Greek goddess associated with magic, witchcraft, necromancy, and three-way crossroads, appears as the master of the "Three witches". In Ancient Greek religion, Hecate as goddess of childbirth is identified with Artemis, who was the leader (ηγεμόνη: hegemone ) of the nymphs.
In Lithuanian mythology Laima is the personification of destiny, and her most important duty was to prophecy how the life of a newborn will take place. She may be related to the Hindu goddess Laksmi, who was the personification of wealth and prosperity, and associated with good fortune. In Latvian mythology, Laima and her sisters were a trinity of fate deities.
The Moirai 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:). .
Outside of Europe
The notion of a universal principle of natural order has been compared to similar ideas in other cultures, such as aša, (Asha) in Avestan religion, Rta in Vedic religion, and Maat in Ancient Egyptian religion.In the Avestan religion and Zoroastrianism, aša, is commonly summarized in accord with its contextual implications of "truth", "right(eousness)", "order". Aša and its Vedic equivalent, Rta, are both derived from a PIE root meaning "properly joined, right, true". The word is the proper name of the divinity Asha, the personification of "Truth" and "Righteousness". Aša corresponds to an objective, material reality which embraces all of existence. This cosmic force is imbued also with morality, as verbal Truth, and Righteousness, action conforming with the moral order. In the literature of the Mandeans, an angelic being has the responsibility of weighing the souls of the deceased to determine their worthiness, using a set of scales.
In the Vedic religion, Rta is an ontological principle of natural order which regulates and coordinates the operation of the universe. The term is now interpreted abstractly as "cosmic order", or simply as "truth", although it was never abstract at the time. It seems that this idea originally arose in the Indo-Aryan period, from a con-sideration (so denoted to indicate the original meaning of communing with the star beings) of the qualities of nature which either remain constant or which occur on a regular basis.
The individuals fulfill their true natures when they follow the path set for them by the ordinances of Rta, acting according to the Dharma, which is related to social and moral spheres. The god of the waters Varuna was probably originally conceived as the personalized aspect of the otherwise impersonal Ṛta. The gods are never portrayed as having command over Ṛta, but instead they remain subject to it like all created beings.
In Egyptian religion, maat was the ancient Egyptian concept of truth, balance, order, law, morality, and justice. The word is the proper name of the divinity Maat, who was the goddess of harmony, justice, and truth represented as a young woman. It was considered that she set the order of the universe from chaos at the moment of creation. Maat was the norm and basic values that formed the backdrop for the application of justice that had to be carried out in the spirit of truth and fairness.
In Egyptian mythology, Maat dealt with the weighing of souls that took place in the underworld. Her feather was the measure that determined whether the souls (considered to reside in the heart) of the departed would reach the paradise of afterlife successfully. In the famous scene of the Egyptian Book of the Dead, Anubis, using a scale, weighs the sins of a man's heart against the feather of truth, which represents maat. If man's heart weighs down, then he is devoured by a monster.
Astronomical objects
The asteroids (97) Klotho, (120) Lachesis, and (273) Atropos are named for the Three Fates.
Late second-century AD Greek mosaic from the House of Theseus at Paphos Archaeological Park on Cyprus showing the three Moirai: Klotho, Lachesis, and Atropos, standing behind Peleus and Thetis, the parents of Achilles
Paphos
Archaeological Park. House of Theseus: Mosaic of the bath of Achilles -
King Peleus, Achilles' father, and the three Moirae Klotho, Lachesis
and Atropos.
Parcae
In ancient Roman religion and myth, the Parcae (singular, Parca) were the female personifications of destiny who directed the lives (and deaths) of humans and gods. They are often called the Fates in English, and their Greek equivalent were the Moirai.
Names and history
The Parcae controlled the metaphorical thread of life of every mortal and immortal from birth to death. Even the gods feared them, and by some sources Jupiter was also subject to their power.The names of the three Parcae are:
- Nona (Greek equivalent Clotho), who spun the thread of life from her distaff onto her spindle;
- Decima (Greek Lachesis), who measured the thread of life with her rod;
- Morta (Greek Atropos), who cut the thread of life and chose the manner of a person's death.
Neuna fata, Neuna dono, Parca Maurtia donoThe names of two of the three Roman Parcae are recorded (Neuna = Nona, Maurtia = Morta) and connected to the concept of fata.
Nona was supposed to determine a person's lifespan on the dies lustricus, that is, the day on which the name of the child was chosen, which occurred on the ninth day from birth for a male and the eighth for a female.
The recurrence of the nundinae was also considered a dies festus and as such nefas by some Roman scholars as Julius Caesar and Cornelius Labeo, because on it the flaminica dialis offered the sacrifice of a goat to Jupiter in the Regia.
One of the sources for the Parcae is Metamorphoses by Ovid, II 654, V 532, VIII 452, XV 781.
Another source is Aeneid by Virgil, in the opening of Book I.
In mythology the Parcae were located on a higher hierarchical level than the highest gods :
"The power of the Parcae was great and extend. Some suppose that they were subjected to none of the gods but Jupiter; while others support that even Jupiter himself was obedient to their commands; and indeed we see the father of the gods, in Homer's Iliad, unwilling to see Patroclus perish, yet obliged, by the superior power of the Fates, to abandon him to his destiny"
"So that we have the clearest evidence of the poet for it, that whatever happens to us is under the influence of the Parcae. Jupiter himself can not interfere to save his son Sarpedon."
Norns
The Norns (Old Norse: norn, plural: nornir) in Norse mythology are female beings who rule the destiny of gods and men. They roughly correspond to other controllers of humans' destiny, such as the Fates, elsewhere in European mythology.In Snorri Sturluson's interpretation of the Völuspá, Urðr (Wyrd), Verðandi and Skuld, the three most important of the Norns, come out from a hall standing at the Well of Urðr or Well of Fate. They draw water from the well and take sand that lies around it, which they pour over Yggdrasill so that its branches will not rot. These three Norns are described as powerful maiden giantesses (Jotuns) whose arrival from Jötunheimr ended the golden age of the gods. They may be the same as the maidens of Mögþrasir who are described in Vafþrúðnismál (see below).
Beside these three famous Norns, there are many others who appear at a person's birth in order to determine his or her future. In the pre-Christian Norse societies, Norns were thought to have visited newborn children. There were both malevolent and benevolent Norns: the former caused all the malevolent and tragic events in the world while the latter were kind and protective goddesses.
Etymology
The origin of the name norn is uncertain, it may derive from a word meaning "to twine" and which would refer to their twining the thread of fate. Bek-Pedersen suggests that the word norn has relation to the Swedish dialect word norna (nyrna), a verb that means "secretly communicate". This relates to the perception of norns as shadowy, background figures who only really ever reveal their fateful secrets to men as their fates come to pass.The name Urðr (Old English Wyrd, Weird) means "fate". It should be noted that wyrd and urðr are etymological cognates, which does not guarantee that wyrd and urðr share the same semantic quality of "fate" over time. Both Urðr and Verðandi are derived from the Old Norse verb verða, "to be". It is commonly asserted that while Urðr derives from the past tense ("that which became or happened"), Verðandi derives from the present tense of verða ("that which is happening"). Skuld is derived from the Old Norse verb skulu, "need/ought to be/shall be"; its meaning is "that which should become, or that needs to occur". Due to this, it has often been inferred that the three norns are in some way connected with the past, present and future respectively, but it has been disputed that their names really imply a temporal distinction and it has been emphasised that the words do not in themselves denote chronological periods in Old Norse.
Relation to other Germanic female deities
There is no clear distinction between norns, fylgjas, hamingjas and valkyries, nor with the generic term dísir. Moreover, artistic license permitted such terms to be used for mortal women in Old Norse poetry. To quote Snorri Sturluson's Skáldskaparmál on the various names used for women:- Woman is also metaphorically called by the names of the Asynjur or the Valkyrs or Norns or women of supernatural kind.
Attestations
There are a number of surviving Old Norse sources that relate to the norns. The most important sources are the Prose Edda and the Poetic Edda. The latter contains pagan poetry where the norns are frequently referred to, while the former contains, in addition to pagan poetry, retellings, descriptions and commentaries by the 12th and 13th century Icelandic chieftain and scholar Snorri Sturluson.Skaldic poetry
A skaldic reference to the norns appears in Hvini's poem in Ynglingatal 24 found in Ynglingasaga 47, where King Halfdan is put to rest by his men at Borró. This reference brings in the phrase "norna dómr" which means "judgment of the nornir". In most cases, when the norns pass judgment, it means death to those who have been judged - in this case, Halfdan. Along with being associated with being bringers of death, Bek-Pedersen suggests that this phrase brings in a quasi-legal aspect to the nature of the norns. This legal association is employed quite frequently within skaldic and eddic sources. This phrase can also be seen as a threat, as death is the final and inevitable decision that the norns can make with regard to human life.
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Poetic Edda
The Poetic Edda is valuable in representing older material in poetry from which Snorri tapped information in the Prose Edda. Like Gylfaginning, the Poetic Edda mentions the existence of many lesser norns beside the three main norns. Moreover, it also agrees with Gylfaginning by telling that they were of several races and that the dwarven norns were the daughters of Dvalin. It also suggests that the three main norns were giantesses (female Jotuns).Fáfnismál contains a discussion between the hero Sigurd and the dragon Fafnir who is dying from a mortal wound from Sigurd. The hero asks Fafnir of many things, among them the nature of the norns. Fafnir explains that they are many and from several races:
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Völuspá relates that three giantesses of huge might are reported to have arrived to the gods from Jotunheim:
Vafþrúðnismál probably refers to the norns when it talks of maiden giantesses who arrive to protect the people of earth as protective spirits (hamingjas):
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Helgakviða Hundingsbana I
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Helgakviða Hundingsbana II
In Helgakviða Hundingsbana II, Helgi Hundingsbane blames the norns for the fact that he had to kill Sigrún's father Högni and brother Bragi in order to wed her:
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Reginsmál
Like Snorri Sturluson stated in Gylfaginning, people's fate depended on the benevolence or the malevolence of particular norns. In Reginsmál, the water dwelling dwarf Andvari blames his plight on an evil norn, presumably one of the daughters of Dvalin:
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Sigurðarkviða hin skamma
Another instance of Norns being blamed for an undesirable situation appears in Sigurðarkviða hin skamma, where the valkyrie Brynhild blames malevolent norns for her long yearning for the embrace of Sigurd:
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Guðrúnarkviða II
Brynhild's solution was to have Gunnarr and his brothers, the lords of the Burgundians, kill Sigurd and afterwards to commit suicide in order to join Sigurd in the afterlife. Her brother Atli (Attila the Hun) avenged her death by killing the lords of the Burgundians, but since he was married to their sister Guðrún, Atli would soon be killed by her. In Guðrúnarkviða II, the Norns actively enter the series of events by informing Atli in a dream that his wife would kill him. The description of the dream begins with this stanza:
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Guðrúnarhvöt
After having killed both her husband Atli and their sons, Guðrún blames the Norns for her misfortunes, as in Guðrúnarhvöt, where Guðrún talks of trying to escaping the wrath of the norns by trying to kill herself:
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Hamðismál
Guðrúnarhvöt deals with how Guðrún incited her sons to avenge the cruel death of their sister Svanhild. In Hamðismál, her sons' expedition to the Gothic king Ermanaric to exact vengeance is fateful. Knowing that he is about to die at the hands of the Goths, her son Sörli talks of the cruelty of the norns:
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Sigrdrífumál
Since the norns were beings of ultimate power who were working in the dark, it should be no surprise that they could be referred to in charms, as they are by Sigrdrífa in Sigrdrífumál:
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Prose Edda
In the part of Snorri Sturluson's Prose Edda which is called Gylfaginning, Gylfi, the king of Sweden, has arrived at Valhalla calling himself Gangleri. There, he receives an education in Norse mythology from what is Odin in the shape of three men. They explain to Gylfi that there are three main norns, but also many others of various races, æsir, elves and dwarves:-
- A hall stands there, fair, under the ash by the well, and out of that hall come three maids, who are called thus: Urdr, Verdandi, Skuld; these maids determine the period of men's lives: we call them Norns; but there are many norns: those who come to each child that is born, to appoint his life; these are of the race of the gods, but the second are of the Elf-people, and the third are of the kindred of the dwarves, as it is said here:
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- Most sundered in birth
- I say the Norns are;
- They claim no common kin:
- Some are of Æsir-kin,
- some are of Elf-kind,
- Some are Dvalinn's daughters.
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-
- Then said Gangleri: "If the Norns determine the weirds of men, then they apportion exceeding unevenly, seeing that some have a pleasant and luxurious life, but others have little worldly goods or fame; some have long life, others short." Hárr said: "Good norns and of honorable race appoint good life; but those men that suffer evil fortunes are governed by evil norns."
-
- It is further said that these Norns who dwell by the
Well of Urdr take water of the well every day, and with it that clay
which lies about the well, and sprinkle it over the Ash, to the end that
its limbs shall not wither nor rot; for that water is so holy that all
things which come there into the well become as white as the film which
lies within the egg-shell,--as is here said:
- I know an Ash standing
- called Yggdrasill,
- A high tree sprinkled
- with snow-white clay;
- Thence come the dews
- in the dale that fall--
- It stands ever green
- above Urdr's Well.
- That dew which falls from it onto the earth is called by men honey-dew, and thereon are bees nourished. Two fowls are fed in Urdr's Well: they are called Swans, and from those fowls has come the race of birds which is so called."
- It is further said that these Norns who dwell by the
Well of Urdr take water of the well every day, and with it that clay
which lies about the well, and sprinkle it over the Ash, to the end that
its limbs shall not wither nor rot; for that water is so holy that all
things which come there into the well become as white as the film which
lies within the egg-shell,--as is here said:
-
- These are called Valkyrs: them Odin sends to every battle; they determine men's feyness and award victory. Gudr and Róta and the youngest Norn, she who is called Skuld, ride ever to take the slain and decide fights.
Legendary sagas
Some of the legendary sagas also contain references to the norns. The Hervarar saga contains a poem named Hlöðskviða, where the Gothic king Angantýr defeats a Hunnish invasion led by his Hunnish half-brother Hlöðr. Knowing that his sister, the shieldmaiden Hervör, is one of the casualties, Angantýr looks at his dead brother and laments the cruelty of the norns:
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One of the last legendary sagas to be written down, the Hrólfs saga kraka talks of the norns simply as evil witches. When the evil half-elven princess Skuld assembles her army to attack Hrólfr Kraki, it contains in addition to undead warriors, elves and norns.
Runic inscription N 351 M
The belief in the norns as bringers of both gain and loss would last beyond Christianization, as testifies the runic inscription N 351 M from the Borgund stave church:- Þórir carved these runes on the eve of Olaus-mass, when he travelled past here. The norns did both good and evil, great toil ... they created for me.
Franks Casket
Three women carved on the right panel of Franks Casket, an Anglo-Saxon whalebone chest from the eighth century, have been identified by some scholars as being three norns.Theories
A number of theories have been proposed regarding the norns.Matres and Matrones
The Germanic Matres and Matrones, female deities venerated in North-West Europe from the 1st to the 5th century AD depicted on votive objects and altars almost entirely in groups of three from the first to the fifth century AD have been proposed as connected with the later Germanic dísir, valkyries, and norns, potentially stemming from them.Three norns
Theories have been proposed that there is no foundation in Norse mythology for the notion that the three main norns should each be associated exclusively with the past, the present, and the future; rather, all three represent destiny as it is twined with the flow of time. Moreoever, theories have been proposed that the idea that there are three main norns may be due to a late influence from Greek and Roman mythology, where there are also spinning fate goddesses (Moirai and Parcae).Appearances in media and popular culture
Music
Viking death metal band Amon Amarth has an album titled Fate of Norns. The band itself has many songs involving Norse mythology."Nornir" (ノルニル), written and composed by Tika･α, arranged by Naoko Etō and sang by Etsuko Yakushimaru Metro Orchestra, is the opening theme of the 2011 anime Mawaru Penguindrum (episodes 1–14), which has themes of constantly changing fate as its main plot.
Opera
Norns feature in the prologue of Richard Wagner's opera Götterdämmerung.Television
The 1990s Disney TV series Gargoyles features three sisters, referred to by the cast as the "Weird Sisters", that are implied to be Norns.A norn was featured in the fourth season of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. After his arrival in the Norselands, the norn tasks Hercules with averting Ragnarok. Since the Fates had already been featured in the series, only a single norn appears, who paints history in a book.
In the 2010 series Lost Girl, there was a Norn who could be petitioned to change fate, for a price. Her price was always the one thing her petitioner values most, whether they realize it or not.
Comics
The Norns appear in Marvel Comics, usually in stories featuring the Norse inspired superhero Thor.The Norns also appear in The Wicked + The Divine, published by Image Comics, written by Kieron Gillen with art by Jamie McKelvie and Matt Wilson. They are incarnated from a trio of journalists, led by Urðr, alongside Verðani and Skuld.
Anime and manga
The main love interest of Oh My Goddess! is the Norn Verðandi, rendered as Belldandy. Her elder sister Urðr (rendered as Urd) and younger sister Skuld also show up, living with the protagonist Keiichi Morisato and their sister Belldandy. Aside from sticking loosely to the theme of Belldandy representing the present, Urd the past and Skuld the future, they are only loosely related to their mythic namesakes in this media.The terminals that Yggdrasil from Digimon created for the New Digital World experiments consisting 3 layers are named Ulud, Versandi, and Skuld which are representing for past, present, and future. Ulud Urðr is a past plain which is a volcanic wasteland, inhabited by Dinosaur type and draconic Digimon. Versandi Verðandi is the "present" region which is a world of lush greenery and is home to beast, bird, plant and other nature Digimon. Skuld is the "future" region, a high-tech city where machine and insect Digimon inhabit.
The three Norns also appear as antagonists in Mythical Detective Loki Ragnarok, along with various other figures from Norse mythology, including Thor, Heimdallr, Freyr, Freyja, Fenrir, Jormungandr, and the eponymous Loki.
In the Calibur arc of Sword Art Online, Urðr appears to Kirito's party and gives them a quest to retrieve the sword Excalibur from Thrymheim before the last beast-type Evil God is killed, restoring Jötunheimr to its former glory. Upon successful completion of this quest, Urðr reappears to Kirito's party, along with her sisters Verdandi and Skuld. They thank them for completing the quest, and allow them to keep Excalibur. Other figures and elements from Norse mythology also appear in this arc, including Thrym, Freyja, Thor, and Mjölnir.
In the anime Norn9, the ship that the main characters live in is named Norn9, after the three Goddesses of Fate.
Video games
- Final Fantasy XI - as Voidwalker Notorious Monsters (VNM) in the Wings of the Goddess expansion.
- Guild Wars and Guild Wars 2
- Heroine's Quest
- NetHack
- Puzzle & Dragons
- Revelations: Persona
- Persona 2: Innocent Sin
- Persona 2: Eternal Punishment
- Persona 4
- Tower of Saviors
- Too Human
- Halo 5: Guardians - the Nornfang (legendary-mythic weapon)
- The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - As the Crones of the forrest.
Norse mythology, Sjódreygil and the Norns Faroese stamps 2006
The three fates, Lachesis, Atropos, and Cloto; by Hans Vischer c. 1530 AD. Kunstgewerbemuseum Berlin
The Three Parcae (1540-1550), by Marco Bigio, in Villa Barberini, Rome
The Norns (1889) by Johannes Gehrts.
"Die Nornen" (1889) by Johannes Gehrts. The three norns surround a child.
The Three Fates by Paul Thumann (19th century)
The Three Parcae Spinning the Fate of Marie de' Medici (1622-1625) by Peter Paul Rubens
Fresco of the Norns in Neues Museum, Berlin
Artwork by Madame-Dei on DeviantArt!)
In Norse mythology, the Norns are jotunns who guard the Well of Urd under the cosmic ash tree Yggdrasil. They sprinkle sand and water over the roots so that it does not rot. They are representative of fate/destiny and are present with every baby born.
Elihu Vedder The Fates Gathering in the Stars.
1887
The Norns by CassiopeiaArt
Francesco Salviati - The Three Fates
1550
Tablecloth Three Norns (Goddesses of Destiny), divination and rituals
© https://www.livemaster.com/item/25684691-runes-tablecloth-three-norns-goddesses-of-destiny-divination-
Giuseppe maria crespi, olimpo, palazzo pepoli, 10 parche.
Youkai Apartment: Norn Goddesses by KyokoYuikoGTS
Greek mythology systematized (1880)
Norns (Fates) (Earth-616) from Marvel Graphic Novel Vol 1 15
Mythological
fresco by Gustav Heidenreich in the "Fatherland Hall" of the New
Museum, Berlin, illustrating the Edda. The three Norns stand for the
belief in fate. On the left, Urd sits at a well (the stream of time)
with the prophesying swans. As the Norn of the past, she inscribes on a
shield runes that give information about completed destiny. In the
center, Verdandi, the Norn of the present, is spinning the thread of
life or destiny. Skuld stands for the future. She waters the ash tree
Yggdrasil and thereby cares for the continuation of history. Yggdrasil
is the world tree whose roots reach into the underworld and whose
branches reach into the heaven of the gods. Various animals live in it.
Stags eat its branches, and the dragon Nidhöggr gnaws on its roots.
(Museum text)
1852
Hekate and the Moirai (The Night of Enitharmon's Joy), by William Blake, Tate Gallery
1795
'Alexander the Great and the Fates' by Bernardo Mei, Cincinnati Art Museum
circa 1667
Prometheus creates man. Clotho and Lachesis besides Poseidon (with his trident), and presumably Atropos besides Artemis (with the moon crescent). Roman sarcophagus, Louvre.
Prometheus
creates Man; some Olympian gods watch the process: from left to right,
Athena (with her helmet), Hermes (with his winged petasus) and cloak,
two Moirae (probably Lachesis and Clotho), Poseidon (with his trident),
Artemis (with the moon crescent) and presumably Atropos. Roman
sarcophagus, ca. 240 AD.
Macbeth and Banquo meeting the three weird sisters in a woodcut from Holinshed's Chronicles.
Mímer and Balder Consulting the Norns (1821-1822) by H. E. Freund.
A
photograph of "Mímir and Baldr Consulting the Norns" (1821-1822) by H.
E. Freund, housed at the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Bas relief of Lachesis. Base of a lampstand in front of the Supreme Court of the United States Washington, D.C..
Bas
relief of Lachesis measuring the thread of human life. This relief
appears on the base of a lampstand in front of the Supreme Court of the
United States.
The Norns
Arthur Rackham.
Norns weaving destiny, by Arthur Rackham (1912)
Bas relief of Atropos cutting the thread of life
The Norns
Arthur Rackham.
Bas relief of Clotho. Base of a lampstand in front of the Supreme Court of the United States, Washington
The Norns Urðr, Verðandi, and Skuld under the world oak Yggdrasil (1882) by Ludwig Burger.
Captioned
as "Die Nornen Urd, Werdanda, Skuld, unter der Welteiche Yggdrasil".
The Nornic trio of Urðr, Verðandi, and Skuld beneath the world tree
(called an oak in the caption) Yggdrasil. At the top of the tree is an
eagle (likely Veðrfölnir), on the trunk of the tree is a squirrel
(likely Ratatoskr), and at the roots of the tree gnaws what appears to
be a small dragon (likely Níðhöggr). At the bottom left of the image is
the well Urðarbrunnr.
The three Moirai. Relief, grave of Alexander von der Mark by Johann Gottfried Schadow. Old National Gallery, Berlin
The Norns
Arthur Rackham.
"The Fates on Brunnhildes Rock"
A section of the Egyptian Book of the Dead written on papyrus showing the "Weighing of the Heart" in the Duat using the feather of Maat as the measure in balance.
Vignett til kapittel 30B av Dødeboken
A Section of Plate 3 from the Papyrus of Ani. The Papyrus of Ani
is a version of the Book of the Dead for the Scribe Ani. Plate 3
contains half of the first (and longer) instance of Chapter 30B in Ani's
Book of the Dead. The title of Chapter 30B is: Chapter For Not Letting Ani's Heart Create Opposition Against Him, in the Gods' Domain.
Norns in Die Helden Und Götter Des Nordens, Oder: Das Buch Der Sagen by Amalia Schoppe, (1832)
The
caption for this illustration reads "Norns". The artist is uncredited.
Please replace with a higher quality version if possible. This version
was taken from a low quality scan found in a PDF version of the source.
The Three Fates by Pierre Milan after Rosso Fiorentino, 1538-40, engraving, private collection
A statue of the Norns at St Stephen's Green, The Tree Faites, donated by the German government in thanks for Operation Shamrock.
A gift from Germany to Ireland, St.Stephens Green, Dublin.
Aeneid, Book I; (1886)
The Norns
C. E. Brock.
Ananke the personification of Necessity, above the Moirai, the Fates.
This romantic representation of the norns depicts one of them (Verdandi according to the runes below) with wings, contrary to folklore.
Possibly 1844
Las Parcas, o Átropos'
tra il 1819 e il 1823
Alois Delug - Die Nornen, 1895, Öl auf Leinwand, cm 354 x 223 . Privatbesitz
Castell Coch
Three Fates
Fresco-painting by the artist Otto Bestereimer
on the south wall of the private villa (owner Prof. Krapf) on the
Konradweg #11 in the 12th district "Sankt Martin", municipality Klagenfurt, Carinthia, Austria, EU
Castello Estense di Ferrara, Sala dell'Aurora, affresco centrale con il Tempo e le Parche
Captioned
as "The Norns". Under the image a note says "After the painting by
[Karl] Ehrenberg". The three Norns sit by the Urðarbrunnr.
itle: Charon's Boat - or - the Ghosts of "all the Talents" taking their last voyage, - from the Pope's Gallery at Rome
Abstract: A group of naked Whig politicians, including three
Grenvilles, Sheridan, St. Vincent, Moira, Temple, Erskine, Howick,
Petty, Whitbread, Sheridan, Windham,and Tomline, Bishop of Lincoln,
crossing the river Styx in a boat named the Broad Bottom Packet.
Sidmouth's head emerges from the water next to the boat. The boat's torn
sail has inscription "Catholic Emancipation" and the center mast is
crowned with the Prince of Wales feathers and motto "Ich Dien". On the
far side the shades of Cromwell, Charles Fox and Robespierre wave to
them. Overhead, on brooms, are the Three Fates; to the left a
three-headed dog. Above the boat three birds soil the boat and
politicians.
Physical description: 1 print : etching.
Notes: Forms part of: British Cartoon Prints Collection (Library
of Congress).; Js. Gillray, fec.; Exhibited: Gillray and the Art of
Caricature.; Title from item.
Holland, 1588
Series: Mythological Subjects
Prints; engravings
Engraving
Mary Stansbury Ruiz Bequest (M.88.91.114g)
Prints and Drawings
Les Parques.
Lachesis est assise près d'une urne et tient une sphère. Clotho, debout
au centre, tient la quenouille des destinées. Atropos s'apprête à
couper le fil.
The
norns Urðr, Verðandi, and Skuld at the well Urðarbrunnr. The serpent
Níðhöggr presumably gnaws at the roots of the tree Yggdrasil below. No
caption or title provided in work.
The Destiny of Marie de' Medici. Oil on canvas. Louvre, Paris, France.
In Norse mythology, the Norns are jotunns who guard the Well of Urd under the cosmic ash tree Yggdrasil. They sprinkle sand and water over the roots so that it does not rot. They are representative of fate/destiny and are present with every baby born.
1887
The Norns by CassiopeiaArt1550
© https://www.livemaster.com/item/25684691-runes-tablecloth-three-norns-goddesses-of-destiny-divination-
Youkai Apartment: Norn Goddesses by KyokoYuikoGTS
Art showing the three fates, losslessly cropped from File:Hufeland 1797.jpg
The Norn Sisters, Norns by Brianda-Batchelor.deviantart.com
the Parcae (the Moirae) - Nona (Clotho), Morta (Atropos) and Decima (Lachesis)
The Fates ( The Moirai )
Trois Parques - Château d'Oiron
Johann Georg Müller: Die drei Parzen (hier zwei sichtbar), Königliche Porzellan-Manufaktur Berlin, um 1785
Kunstgewerbemuseum Berlin, Inv. Nr. 98,487
The Norns, Goddess's of Fate
Le Destin
Le tre Parche
Les trois Parques
The Moirae.
Destiny
Preliminary drawing (cartoon) of Petrarch's Triumph of Death, as a model for a tapestry or painting on glass.
Pieter Thijs - Time and the Three Fates
1665 circa
Parques la première donne la vie la deuxième regarde le déroulement de la vie. Sculpteur Roubert JJ
Dernière
Parque elle pèse le bilan de la vie et semble souffler dans la
trompette de la renommée sa main gauche prépare la conclusion. Sculpteur
Roubert JJ.
Statua
di una delle tre Parche, copia adrianea di originale del IV secolo aC.,
con testa non pertinente, braccio e fuso di restauro moderno. Museo
Chiaramonti.
The Three Fates, attributed to Jacob Matham. Print, Engraving, 33.81 cm in diameter. Collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
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