According to Greek mythology, the Fates, or Moirai, determine the destiny of a human's life. Life is represented as a thread and the Fates are those who spin, hold and cut the thread of life.
In Greek fairy tales and folk stories, the Fates visit the newborn within three days of his/her coming into the world.
In olden days, the mothers would place three plates with sweets next to the baby as gifts to the Fates in the hope that their words for the baby's life would be sweet.
Greek folk wisdom captures the importance of the Fates in the expression "whatever the Fate writes, it cannot be undone". This popular expression, which appears in many folk stories and the Greek vernacular, refers to the ancient Greek belief of "fate is inescapable".
