Le Parche sono le divinità che presiedono al destino dell'uomo. La prima filava il tessuto della vita, la seconda dispensava i destini, assegnandone uno a ogni individuo stabilendone anche la durata, e la terza, l'inesorabile, tagliava il filo della vita al momento stabilito. Le loro decisioni erano immutabili, neppure gli dèi potevano cambiarle.


In Roman mythology, the Parcae were the personifications of destiny, often called The Fates in English. Their Greek equivalent were the Moirae. They controlled the metaphorical thread of life of every mortal and immortal from birth to death. Even the gods feared the Parcae. Jupiter also was subject to their power.
The names of the three Parcae were:
Nona (Greek equivalent Clotho), who spun the thread of life from her distaff onto her spindle;
Decima (Greek Lachesis), who measured the thread of life with her rod;
Morta (Greek Atropos), who cut the thread of life and chose the manner of a person's death