Lachesis

Night gave birth to three daughters, Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos. They were called the Moirai, or Fates, and they governed the duration of human life and the destinies of mortals. Their power reached from birth to the grave, and both mortals and immortals submitted to their decrees.

Clotho prepared the thread of life. She wound the flax around her distaff and kept it ready. Lachesis spun the thread and measured its length. Atropos held the scissors. When a person’s life had reached its appointed end, she cut the thread and brought that life to a close. Atropos was the smallest of the three sisters, but she was the most terrible. Her name meant that she could not be turned or avoided.

The three Fates worked together, and each held a separate part in the course of human life. Their work was shown through the thread that began at birth and ended at death. In this form, they governed the share allotted to every person. The power of fate extended beyond humanity. The gods also had to submit to it, and Zeus himself could not always avert its decrees.

In another telling, Zeus fathered Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos by Themis, daughter of Ouranos. In that genealogy, the three sisters stood among Zeus’s children, alongside the Seasons. Another telling spoke of only one Fate, the daughter of Night, who represented the force that governed the universe. Later tellings divided this power among the three sisters who spun, measured, and cut the thread of life.