Throughout time there has been plenty of famous “rip-offs”, however, I feel Shakespeare does it best with his blatant stealing from Greek mythology and tragedies. Throughout Macbeth, there are plenty of references to Greek mythology from the tragic hero narrative to the outright mention of Hecate. The Witches in Macbeth are no exception. They are displayed as all-knowing characters who work for Hecate herself and bear a strong resemblance to the three Fates or Moirai in Greek mythology. This essay will take a deeper look into the question: Are the Witches and the Moirai one and the same?
Taking a look into the appearance of the witches, they are described by Banquo as withered and from another earth. “What are these, so wither’d and so wild in their attire, that look not like th’inhabitants o’th’earth.”(Act 1, Scene 3, Lines 37-39) Later Macbeth describes them as “secret, black, and midnight hags!”(Act 4, Scene 1, Line 47) These quotes suggest that they are old withered ladies with their use of words like shrivelled and hags. This directly relates to the fates as there is a common tale about the Fates that describes them as old shrivelled ladies. “Right out of the cradle, they grew from three shrivelled
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Additionally, the witches are a form of mystery as their power is unknown: “Tell me, thou unknown power-” (Act 4, Scene 1, Line 68) Additionally, more of this mystery and fear is shown when they show Macbeth the apparitions of the kings: “Thy crown does sear mine eyeballs.” (Act 4, Scene 1, Line 112) In this quote, Macbeth feels pain from looking upon the apparitions. Moreover, this mystery and power relates to the Greek fates as they seem to have unknown bounds to their power: “But even Zeus was afraid of those girls.” (PJ) This quote directly outlines just how powerful the Fates had to be as Zeus is the Fates' father and ruler of the