|
Fates
The Fates are a common motif in European polytheism, most frequently represented as a trio of goddesses. The Fates shape the destiny of each human, often expressed in textile metaphors such as spinning fibers into yarn, or weaving threads on a loom. This trio is composed of sisters who go by the names Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos (also known as the daughters of Zeus and Themis). These divine figures are often artistically depicted as beautiful maidens with consideration to their serious responsibility: the life of mortals. Poets typically express the Fates as ugly and unwavering, representing the gravity of their role within the mythological and human worlds. Individual roles The Moirai, meaning "allotted portion" or "share", separated each sister into a different role in order to handle the fates of humans. The Fates were expected to appear within three days of a mortal's birth. Clotho was the first of the three, known as "the spinner", due to the fact that she would weave t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Motif (folkloristics)
The ''Motif-Index of Folk-Literature'' is a six volume catalogue of motifs, granular elements of folklore, composed by American folklorist Stith Thompson (1932–1936, revised and expanded 1955–1958). Often referred to as Thompson's motif-index, the catalogue has been extensively used in folklore studies, where folklorists commonly use it in tandem with the Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index, an index used for folktale type analysis. As standard tools The motif-index and the AT or ATU indices are regarded as standard tools in the study of folklore. For example, folklorist Mary Beth Stein says, "Together with Thompson's six-volume ''Motif-Index of Folk-Literature'', with which it is cross-indexed, ''The Types of Folktale'' constitutes the most important reference work and research tool for comparative folk-tale analysis. Alan Dundes who was an outspoken critic also said substantially the same thing, without confining the application to comparative studies: " he indicesindex const ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
