Lachesis
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Lachesis (/ˈlækɪsɪs/ LAK-iss-iss; Ancient Greek: Λάχεσις, romanized: Lákhesis, lit. 'disposer of lots'; from λαγχάνω lanchánō, 'to obtain by lot, by fate, or by the will of the gods'), in ancient Greek religion, was the middle of the Three Fates, or Moirai, alongside her sisters Clotho and Atropos. Normally seen clothed in white, Lachesis is the measurer of the thread spun on Clotho's spindle, and in some texts, determines Destiny.[1] Her Roman equivalent was Decima. Lachesis apportioned the thread of life, determining the length of each lifespan.[2] She measured the thread of life with her rod and is also said to choose a person's destiny during the measurement. Myths attest that she and her sisters appear within three days of a baby's birth to decide the child's fate.
Origin
According to Hesiod's Theogony, Lachesis and her sisters were the daughters of Nyx (Night), though later in the same work (ll. 901-906) they are said to have been born of Zeus and Themis.[3] Lachesis is also mentioned in the tenth book of the Republic of Plato as the daughter of Necessity. She instructs the souls who are about to choose their next life, assign them lots, and presents them all of the kinds, human and animal, from which they may choose their next life.
Namesake
120 Lachesis, a main-belt asteroid.
Lachesis is a genus of pit vipers sometimes called bushmasters.[4] It includes the largest venomous snake in the Western Hemisphere, and the largest vipers in the world.
References
- ^ Weigle, Marta (1 July 2007). Spiders and Spinsters: Women and Mythology. Sunstone Press. p. 12. ISBN 978-0-86534-587-4. Retrieved 29 July 2013.
- ^ Hamilton, Edith (1942). Mythology, p. 49. Little, Brown and Company, Boston. ISBN 978-0-316-34114-1
- ^ Hesiod, Theogony 901–6; cf. Hansen, William; Hansen, William Freeman (2005). Classical Mythology: A Guide to the Mythical World of the Greeks And Romans. Oxford University Press. p. 153. ISBN 978-0-19-530035-2. Retrieved 29 July 2013., "Dante's Inferno: Cantos XXXIII - Atropos". Cantos33.weebly.com. Retrieved 2012-10-03.
- ^ 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. ("Lachesis", p. 149).
Further reading
- Thomas Blisniewski: Kinder der dunkelen Nacht. Die Ikonographie der Parzen vom späten Mittelalter bis zum späten XVIII. Jahrhundert. Dissertation Cologne 1992. Berlin 1992.
