The three Fates are the embodiment of a doctrine of Necessity which
has all things within its inexorable grasp. They represent the birth,
life and death of every man--Clotho the birth, as she holds unwound the
thread on the distaff, Lachesis the life, with the thread just passing
through her fingers, Atropos the death, as she waits, holding the
shears to cut the thread.