MOERAE Also known as the Parcae, these were three goddesses---more like witches really---who controlled, shaped and defined the destinies of men. Unlike Moera herself though, these three were subject to the will and command of Zeus, whom they called Moeragetes. They were supposed to have been present at both Zeus' marriage to Themis, and to Hera.The Moerae symbolised the three stages of life---birth, years and death, and to this end they were each of a different age and appearance, the youngest being Klotho, she who placed the golden and silver thread of life onto the spindle of the loom on which all three sisters worked, while Lachesis spun it, and Atropos, the oldest and ugliest, cut the thread, thus bringing to a close the life of a person on Earth. The Moerae were also known as the Norns in Norse legend, and also the Fates.