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Lachesis (/ˈlækɪsɪs/LAK-iss-iss;Ancient Greek:Λάχεσις,romanized: Lákhesis,lit. 'disposer of lots'; fromλαγχάνωlanchánō, 'to obtain by lot, by fate, or by the will of the gods'), inancient Greek religion, was the middle of theThree Fates, orMoirai, alongside her sistersClotho andAtropos. Normally seen clothed in white, Lachesis is the measurer of the thread spun on Clotho's spindle, and in some texts, determines Destiny.[1] Her Roman equivalent wasDecima. Lachesis apportioned the thread of life, determining the length of each lifespan.[2] She measured the thread of life with her rod and is also said to choose a person's destiny during the measurement. Myths attest that she and her sisters appear within three days of a baby's birth to decide the child's fate.
According toHesiod'sTheogony, Lachesis and her sisters were the daughters ofNyx (Night), though later in the same work (ll. 901-906) they are said to have been born ofZeus andThemis.[3] Lachesis is also mentioned in the tenth book of theRepublic of Plato as the daughter ofNecessity. She instructs the souls who are about to choose their next life, assign them lots, and presents them all of the kinds, human and animal, from which they may choose their next life.
InGenealogia Deorum Gentilium, the Italian Renaissance writerGiovanni Boccaccio wrote thatLachesis was the second of theMoirai. Clotho, Lachesis andAtropos, as previously mentioned in the section on the Dispute, were daughters ofDemogorgon.Cicero, however, calls them the Parcae in De Natura Deorum, where he states that they were daughters ofErebus andNight. It seems preferable, however, to followTheodontius, who affirms that they were created together with the nature of things. Elsewhere, where Cicero speaks of the Parca in the singular, he also calls her the daughter of Erebus and Night.Seneca, in his letters toLucilius, also calls them the Parcae, citing the saying ofCleanthes: “The Fates lead those who are willing and drag those who are unwilling.” In this, he describes not only their office that is, to guide all living beings but also to compel them, as if all things occurred by necessity.Lachesis was the one who measured the thread of life, determining how long each mortal would live.[4]
120 Lachesis, a main-belt asteroid.
Lachesis is a genus of pit vipers sometimes called bushmasters.[5] It includes the largest venomous snake in the Western Hemisphere, and the largest vipers in the world.
