In Greek Mythology
According to Greek
mythology, the Three Fates
determine how long a
person will live. No man or
god can change their
decision.
Some sources say
the Fates are daughter of
Nyx (night) while others say
they are daughters of Zeus,
the chief of the gods and
Themis, the goddess of
justice.
They are often
pictured as old, ugly
women dressed in white
robes.
Clotho starts a
man’s life and
spins it into a
thread.
Lachesis
measures the
man’s thread
of life.
Atropos cuts
the thread
and ends the
man’s life.
Look at this picture.
(click mouse)
See Clotho’s rod
where the thread of
life is starting. (click
mouse)
See Lachesis
measuring how long
the life will last with
her hands. (click
mouse)
See how the thread
of life ends by
Atrophos. This
tapestry can be seen
at the Albert and
Victoria Museum in
London, England.
http://collections.vam.ac.uk/ite
m/O72702/tapestry-the-threefates-the-triumph/
Atropos cuts the
thread of life.
Clotho spins the
thread of life.
Lachesis
measures the
thread of life.
Remember the Greeks believed that life was predetermined, already
decided by the Fates. What was going to happen would happen. A person
could not change their fate. They will die when it is their time. What do you
think? Write three sentences on your worksheet. Can you change your
fate? If so, how would you do this?
Here is what some other people think:

“Fate is for those too weak to determine their own destiny. (K. Hamad)

“Each man is the architect of his own fate.” (A. Claudius)

“We create our fate every day we live.” (Henry Miller)

“Fate chooses our relatives; we choose our friends.”
Read these quotations. Pick one of them. Write it on your worksheet.
In three sentences, explain what is means below the quotation.