The Fates
The Greeks and Romans believed that birth, events and death were arbitrarily controlled by the Parcæ or Fates, of which there were three—Clotho, who held the distaff—Lachesis, who spun the thread of life and Atropos who bore the shears and cut the thread when life was ended.
Thus Clotho presided over birth and drew the thread of life from the distaff, while Atropos presided over death, Lachesis spinning the thread between life and death.
The Harpies and Furies were also responsible agents in disaster. The former were vultures with female heads and breasts, living in an atmosphere of filth and stench and contaminating everything they came near. Their names Ocypeta (rapid), Celeno (blackness), and Aello (storm) indicate that they were the personification of tumult and whirlwind. Equally arbitrary were the reputed acts of the Furies, of whom there were likewise three, their names being Tisiphone (avenger of blood), Alectro (implacable), and Megæra (disputatious).