The concept of the goddesses weaving the thread of fate is in ancient Greek and Scandinavian-Germanic mythologies. The Greeks called them moira - parks in the Latin version, and the Vikings called them norns.
Goddesses of Fate in Greek and Roman Mythologies
The concept of goddesses spinning the thread of fate originated in the ancient world with the advent of spinning tools. Among the Greeks, such goddesses were called moira, the word translated means "fate, destiny, share." The number of moirs in mythology varied with time, but in the classic version there are only three of them: Clotho, Lachesis and Anthropos. Clotho in translation means - "spinner or spinner". This moira spun the thread of fate. Lachesis in translation means giving a lot. Lachesis twisted the thread, determined its length, that is, the fate given to each living creature, and wound it on a spindle. Anthropos, which means "inevitability", already meant death. This moira broke the thread of fate. The Greeks believed that the Moiraes were the children of Kronos (god of time) and Night. Plato said that they are the offspring of Ananke - "necessity", and that they have power over the fate of not only people, but also the gods. However, among the priesthood, the prevailing doctrine was that Zeus is still free to change his fate, and that he is above them as the supreme organizer of order, therefore Zeus was even called myroget - “the driver of the moirs,” showing the dependence of the goddesses of fate on his supreme will.
There is a variant of the myth in which Zeus is indicated as the father of the Moirs, and Themis, the goddess of justice, is called their mother. Here the thought of fate as the justice of God already prevails, which is already closer to Christianity.
For the Romans, parks corresponded to moiras: Nona, Decima and Morta with the same functions and attributes.
Goddesses of fate in Norse mythology
Norns in Germanic mythology are not always depicted as spinning thread, but they almost correspond to the image of the moir. These are three goddesses and sorceresses who can influence and even determine the fate of the world. No mortal or god can influence them and their predictions. They settled at the sacred tree Yggdrasil in order to protect the Aesir gods from evil deeds and edify them with their predictions. Their names are Urd ("destiny"), Verdandi ("becoming") and Skuld ("duty"). Norns represent the past, present and future, and their main occupation is the yarn of the threads of fate.
Norns give people unequal destinies, someone is lucky all their lives, and someone dies in poverty and misery. But they could also show personal concern if they were insulted at the birth of a child, so the Viking Scandinavians tried to appease the norn with victims.
Norns spin not of their own free will, but obeying the most ancient and impersonal law of the Universe - Orlog, which is much closer to the philosophical concept of rock than Plato's Ananke-necessity. Urd was usually portrayed as a decrepit old woman, Verdani as a mature woman, and Skuld as a very young girl.
