Atropos

Atropos or Aisa (/ˈætrəpɒs/; Ancient Greek: Ἄτροπος "without turn"), in Greek mythology, was one of the three Moirai, goddesses of fate and destiny. Her Roman equivalent was Morta.

For other uses, see Atropos (disambiguation).
Bas relief of Atropos cutting the thread of life.

Atropos was the oldest of the Three Fates, and was known as "the Inflexible One.[1] It was Atropos who chose the manner of death and ended the life of mortals by cutting their threads.[2] She worked along with her two sisters, Clotho, who spun the thread, and Lachesis, who measured the length. Atropos has been featured in several stories such as Atalanta[3] and Achilles.

Origin

Her origin, along with the other two fates, is uncertain, although some called them the daughters of the night. It is clear, however, that at a certain period they ceased to be only concerned with death and also became those powers who decided what may happen to individuals. Although Zeus was the chief Greek god and their father, he was still subject to the decisions of the Fates, and thus the executor of destiny, rather than its source. According to Hesiod's Theogony, Atropos and her sisters (Clotho and Lachesis) were the daughters of Erebus (Darkness) and Nyx (Night) and sister to Thanatos and Hypnos, though later in the same work (ll. 901-906) they are said to have been of Zeus and Themis.

Dispute of Origin

In the ancient Greek poem, The Shield of Heracles, Atropos is referred to as the oldest and smallest of the three fates. This description is uncommon among references to Atropos. It is uncommon in ancient mentions of her in more ways than one as it turns out, including this fate's moniker. Its possible that Plato is behind the creation of Atropos as many of the early descriptions of the fates have Aisa as the name of this third fate, although there is still no clear consensus. The inconsistent nature of these accounts make it difficult to know for sure whether or not Aisa or Atropos is the best name to use when talking about the third fate, but evidence seems to point to Aisa being the more commonly used name earlier on, with Atropos gaining popularity later.[4]

Medicine

Atropos lends her name to the genus Atropa, of which the poisonous plant Atropa belladonna (deadly nightshade) is a member, and to the alkaloid atropine, an anticholinergic drug which is derived from it.

Herpetology

The scientific name of a venomous snake, Bitis atropos, refers to Atropos.[5]

Entomology

Acherontia atropos

Astronomy

An asteroid 273 Atropos is named after Atropos.

References
  1. Clement of Alexandria. The Exhortation to the Greeks. The Rich Man's Salvation. To the Newly Baptized. Translated by G. W. Butterworth. Loeb Classical Library 92. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1919, pg 52-53.
  2. Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th Edition. Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780787650155.
  3. Baldwin, James. "The Story of Atalanta". Old Greek Stories. ISBN 978-1421932125.
  4. Carpenter, Rhys (1925). "The Fates of the Madrid Puteal". American Journal of Archaeology. 29 (2): 117–134. doi:10.2307/497894. ISSN 0002-9114.
  5. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. ("Atropos", p. 12).
  • Works related to Theogony at Wikisource
  • The dictionary definition of Atropos at Wiktionary
  • Media related to Atropos at Wikimedia Commons
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