So this whole thing started ’cause I was scrolling through TikTok last Tuesday night, saw this reel about the Three Fates. It was slick, fancy graphics, talking about how Atropos cuts the thread of life whenever she feels like it. Sounded dramatic, right? But something felt… off. Been knee-deep in Greek myths for my YouTube channel research last month, and this just didn’t ring true. My gut screamed “that’s gotta be BS!”.
Grabbed my worn-out copy of Hesiod’s Theogony off the shelf Wednesday morning – the spine’s basically held together with tape and hope. Dust flew everywhere. Flipped straight to the part about the Moirai. Coffee was cold by the time I found it. Reading slow, ’cause that old Greek poetic stuff is dense as hell. Hesiod says they assign the fate, that Clotho spins the thread of life, Lachesis measures it out, and Atropos cuts it only when the measured length is done. Huh. Not some random snip-fest like TikTok claimed.
But hey, maybe Hesiod was having an off day? Dug deeper. Pulled up my Loeb Classical Library app (paid good money for that!). Cross-checked with Homer’s Iliad – Book 24, Sarpedon’s death bit. Even peeked at some Orphic Hymns. Every legit ancient source I found hammered the same point:
- They are NOT random: Fate is measured, allocated. No whimsy.
- Atropos cuts ONLY after measurement: She’s got rules!
- Zeus himself kinda answers to them: Dude’s the boss god, yet even his plans gotta fit the Fates’ framework. Big surprise there.
Thursday afternoon, went down an internet rabbit hole. Checked forums, Reddit, even some supposedly “educational” websites. Couldn’t believe the nonsense floating around!
Found these absolute whoppers getting shared like candy:
- “The Fates can be bribed with offerings!” – Nope, not a single myth shows mortals sweet-talking or buying them off. Like, ever.
- “They constantly fight with each other!” – Zero evidence. They function together like a weird, scary cosmic assembly line.
- “They created the whole world!” – Seriously, where do people get this? Gaia did the world-building, the Fates deal with mortal lifelines. Basic stuff!
Friday morning, sat down to compile my notes for a blog post. Just shook my head. Seems like modern folks love making the Fates way more chaotic, unpredictable, or powerful than the old texts show. They inject drama where the Greeks had terrifyingly rigid cosmic order. Maybe we just prefer messy, relatable villains over impersonal cosmic forces?
Anyway, my dusty books and cross-referencing apps saved the day. Learned my lesson: always go back to the sources. The internet is full of creative geniuses making stuff up. Finished the post, hit publish, and made myself another coffee. Felt good sorting fact from fiction.
