Origins
Ananke seems to have similar functions with the Homeric Moira (fate) and with Tekmor ( proof, ordinance) a primeval goddess in the cosmogony of Alcman (7 th century BC) who were both related with the limit and end of life. In the Homeric poems Zeus appears as the guider of destiny, but his decisions are controlled by this abstract power ( Moira). In the Theogony of Hesiod (7 th century BC) the three Moirai (Fates) are acting over the gods. In Plato's Republic (4th century BC) the Three Fates are daughters of Ananke.
When the Greeks moved away from the belief that gods resemble men, they tried to find a single principle behind the various gods, and even to define it as what is essentially divine. The Pythagoreans (6 th century BC) advanced to an idea of divine omnipotence, and some others sought to find something else behind the gods which was more powerful than they. They might call this power Ananke or Moira. In either case there was a feeling towards a notion of order, to which even the gods had to conform, and a desire to bring the gods under the same rule which was applied to men
The concept of a universal principle of natural order has been compared with similar concepts in other cultures like the Vedic Rta, the Avestan Asha (Arta) and the Egyptian Maat. Rta and Arta originally meant "properly joined" and manifested those features of nature which either remain constant or occur on regular bases. In human sphere the words were related with morality meaning "truth" or "righteousness". and the Egyptian goddess Maat had similar functions. Recurring events like the transmigration of the souls related with morality, appear in the Pythagorean and Orphic beliefs, in some poems of Pindar, and especially in the work of Empedocles ( 5 th century BC), who represents Ananke as the immemorial ordinance of men and gods. However in the official Greek religion Ananke represents the universal principle of "necessity" and is not usually related with any "moral purpose", or "recurring events".
Read more about this topic: Ananke (mythology)
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