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Atropos

1911 Encyclopedia Britannica

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Encyclopedias
1911 Encyclopedia Britannica
• Atropos
McClintock and Strong's Bible Encyclopedia
• Atropos

in Greek mythology, the eldest of the three Fates (see Fate). Her name, the "Unalterable" (a- privative, and Tpbirav, to turn), indicates her function, that of rendering the decisions of her sisters irreversible or immutable. Atropos is most frequently represented with scales, a sun-dial or a cutting instrument, the "abhorred shears," with which she slits the thin-spun thread of life that has been placed on the spindle by Clotho and drawn off by Lachesis.