Netflix’s Kaos is the latest series to take over our TV screens and the series is full of Greek mythology references and characters to wrap your head around, and if you’re confused over the Fates, then here’s your 101 on this powerful trio.
Kaos is essentially a modern retelling of the Greek gods and asks the question of what happens when Zeus (Jeff Goldblum) has a midlife crisis? Utter chaos is the answer. And this chaos is in part caused by a prophecy made by the Fates that states: “A line appears, the order wanes, the family falls and kaos reigns.”
And after discovering a wrinkle (aka a line) on his forehead Zeus is convinced the world and his fellow gods are plotting against him to take him down.
So who are the Fates that predicted Zeus’ downfall? Here’s what you need to know about them.
Who are the Fates in Kaos?
We first meet the Fates in episode two of Kaos when Orpheus (Killian Scott) and Dionysus (Nabhaan Rizwan) travel to The Cave bar for Orpheus to have the chance to get into the underworld and bring back Riddy (Aurora Perrineau).
The Fates – Atropos (Sam Buttery), Lachesis (Eddie Izzard), and Clotho (Ché)- are in charge of the game that people enter in order to have their chance at progressing into the underworld and set the questions people have to answer. Dionysus ends having to give his father’s watch to Lachesis in order to ensure Orpheus’ passage to the underworld.
They also set the fates and write the prophecies for everyone on the planet, including the Gods. Atropos is the one in episode five who reminds Prometheus (Stephen Dillane) of his fate and that he must kill Charon (Ramon Tikaram), who later becomes the ferryman of the underworld, and that a wider plan is at large.
They later tell Poseidon (Cliff Curtis) Minos (Stanley Townsend) can kill his first born son and therefore technically defy his prophecy, of course what they don’t tell him is that the prophecy actually refers to Ari (Leila Farzard) as she was the first one of the twins to draw breath.
We then last see them in episode eight when Zeus appears to destroy them in a fire at the cave bar, after they tell him his prophecy can only come into being if he believes it and Zeus spots his watch on Lachesis. But are they really gone?
Who are the Fates in Greek mythology?
In classic Greek mythology the Fates, known as the Moirai were three sisters and goddesses who determined the fates of humans.
Clotho spun the threads of human fate while a human was still in the womb, Lachesis dispensed it and decided how long a human would live, and Atropos cut the thread aka ended the human life.
So while humanity had free will, ultimately they could not escape their destinies as pre-determined by the Fates.
Their prophecies were instrumental in the stories of Achilles, Meleager, and of course Orpheus and Eurydice.
Kaos is available on Netflix now
Senior Entertainment and Lifestyle Writer
Lydia Venn is Cosmopolitan UK’s Senior Entertainment and Lifestyle Writer. She covers everything from , to the latest celebrity news. She also writes across our work/life section regularly creating , covering exciting new releases and sharing the latest must-haves. In her role she’s interviewed everyone from Margot Robbie to Niall Horan, and her work has appeared on an episode of . After completing a degree in English at the University of Exeter, Lydia moved into journalism, writing for the , before working as Features Editor at , where she spoke on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour and Talk Radio. She has an encyclopedic knowledge of Gilmore Girls and 00s teen movies, and in her free time can be found with a margarita in hand watching the Real Housewives on repeat. Find her on .