In ancient Roman religion and myth, the Parcae were the female personifications of destiny who directed the lives (and deaths) of humans and gods. They are often called the Fates in English. They are 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 and Morta (Greek Atropos), who cut the thread of life and chose the manner of a person's death.