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The Orphic Hymns
the Orphic tradition · Hymn 59, lines 15–18 · Atropos, Lachesis and Klotho, come to me
59.15
The Orphic Hymns 59.15 · Atropos, Lachesis and Klotho, come to me
The three Fates, gentle-hearted and unseen, are called by name and asked to come.
· · ·
ἀλλά1
allá
But
μόλετʼ2
mólet’
come
μοι3
moi
to me
, you
ἠέριαι4
ēériai
of the air
, μαλακόφρονες5
malakóphrones
gentle-hearted
, ἠπιόθυμοι6
ēpióthymoi
kindly
, Ἄτροπε7
Átrope
Atroposthe Unturning
καὶ8
kaì
and
Λάχεσι9
Láchesi
Lachesisthe Allotter
, Κλωθώ10
Klōthṓ
Klothothe Spinner
, εὐπατέρειαι11
eupatéreiai
daughters of a noble father
, νυκτέριαι12
nyktériai
of the night
, ἀφανεῖς13
aphaneîs
unseen
, ἀμετάτροποι14
ametátropoi
unchangeablenot to be turned
, αἰὲν15
aièn
ever
ἀτειρεῖς16
ateireîs
unyielding
, παντοδότειραι17
pantodóteirai
givers of all
, and
ἀνάγκης18
anánkēs
of necessity
ἀφαιρέτιδες19
aphairétides
takers-away
θνητοῖσιν20
thnētoîsin
from mortals
; But come to me, you of the air, gentle-hearted, kindly, Atropos and Lachesis, Klotho, daughters of a noble father, of the night, unseen, unchangeable, ever unyielding, givers of all, and of necessity takers-away from mortals;
But come to me, you of the air, gentle-hearted, kindly, Atropos and Lachesis, Klotho, daughters of a noble father, of the night, unseen, unchangeable, ever unyielding, givers of all, and of necessity takers-away from mortals;
Interpretation
But come to me, you of the air, gentle-hearted, kindly, Atropos and Lachesis and Klotho, daughters of a noble father, of the night, unseen, unchangeable, ever unyielding, givers of all, and of necessity takers-away from mortals;
The three are named at last. Klotho is "the Spinner," who spins the thread of a life; Lachesis is "the Allotter," who assigns each one a lot; Atropos is "she who cannot be turned," and the hymn echoes her name in the next line with ametatropoi, "not to be turned aside." In the myth of Er at the end of Plato's Republic they are daughters of Necessity and sing of what has been, what is and what will be. Their parentage shifts within the hymn as well: the "children of Night" of the first line are now "daughters of a noble father," which fits the other account in Hesiod, where their father is Zeus.
59.19
The Orphic Hymns 59.19 · Hear my libations and prayers
The last request: hear the libations and prayers, and come to the initiates kindly.
· · ·
Fates, hear my holy libations and prayers, coming to the initiates with kindly will, banishing care.