"The Fates" are the three goddesses in Greek mythology who control the fate and destiny of every individual human being. They are otherwise known as the Moirae. These timeless old hags weave the threads of destiny that control the life span of every individual.
They are: Clotho who spins the Thread of Life, Lachesis who allots the length of the yarn, and Atropos who cuts the spun yarn.
As the daughters of the primeval night deities Erebus and Nyx (though some claim that Zeus and Themis should be held responsible), the Fates control the destinies of all. Even the Gods are subject to their decisions.
All the good and evil that befalls you is woven into your destiny and cannot be altered even one jot. You may find this a little unfair, but it's the stuff great Greek tragedies are made of.
In Act.II Sc.3, Artemidorus tries to warn Caesar of the impending assasination attempt by the conspirators. He lists out all the names of the conspirators and warns Caesar of their evil intentions. He writes their names on a sheet of paper and decides to hand it over to Caesar secretly in the guise of a petition.
All the conspirators at some time or the other had benefitted and prospered because of Caesar. They owe their present position and wealth to Caesar, but now unfortunately they have turned against Caesar and have decided to kill him. Artemidorus acknowledges the role of the Fates in this reversal of fortunes in Caesar's life and hence just before he hands over the sheet of paper to Caesar he remarks,
"If thou read this O Caesar, thou mayst live.
If not the Fates with traitors do contrive."
Artemidorus, seems to say that the only explanation for the sudden and complete reversal in the behaviour of the conspirators who were once friends of Caesar is only because of the Fates who have turned the friends of Caesar into his enemies.
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