Myths & More

The Nornir

Findings

We found some similarities between each of the physical representations of fate. For one, fate is portrayed by three supernatural women in both Greek and Norse mythology. The two sets of women also seem to control life and death, but in different ways. The Moriae, or the Greek Fates, were “spinners of fate”, controlling the lives of humans in pieces of thread. Clotho spun the thread, Lachesis handled it, and Atropos cut the thread at the end of one’s life. The Norns tended to the fates of people and gods in the roots of the Yggdrasil tree, or the tree of life. They are believed to be connected to the past, present, and future, respectively, much like the Greek Fates. In both Greek and Norse myth, these women were regarded as either malevolent or benevolent, depending on one’s circumstances. For example, in the Poetic Edda, in one poem, a character recounts the tragic death of his son, saying (translated, of course), “[the/a] norn is grim to me”. It seems to me that this father feels that the Norns are responsible for grief, death, or emotional turmoil. But, in a later poem about avenging a loved one’s death, the narrator states, “the nornir settled it right”. This person feels that the Norns have brought justice to him, which completely contradicts the previous poem.

The Moirae

Shai, an ambivalent deity in Egyptian myth, also had the ability to control life and death. The gods and pharaohs themselves were at his mercy. The god was associated with both the male and female gender, being called Shait in the female form (a more feminine version of the name). This representation of fate had many differences from the other two cultures. The Egyptians believed that Shai was “born” with every individual, but was also a god. He followed each person through death, and was sometimes believed to be with them until their final judgement (which is where Anubis, god of death, took over). Shai was typically paired with one of three goddesses: Meskhenet, the goddess of birth; Renenutet, goddess that gave one their true name; or Shepset, the hippopotamus goddess of childbirth. He also had many depictions, at times, a human, and others, a snake or human-headed birth brick. Shai was viewed as incredibly unpredictable, much like the Norns or Moirai.

Shai and Anubus

Next, we strove to focus on why mythology was so important back in those particular time periods. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica article about Greek mythology, “people of all countries, eras, and stages of civilization have developed myths that explain the existence and workings of natural phenomena, recount the deeds of gods or heroes, or seek to justify social or political institutions”. This shows that most everyone that has created myths, made them to explain even the most mundane things. Therefore, it was an important aspect of everyday life. We have examples of people creating gods of different weather elements, love, and so on and so forth.