Memento Mori

Memento Mori: remember you must die. This Latin phrase is not intended to inspire dread but to confront our fear of death and remind us of the transient nature of life. As Socrates says, ‘The aim of those who practice philosophy in the proper manner is to practice for dying and death’.

In ancient Greek myth, life was imagined as a single thread and the keepers of this thread were personified as three sisters known as the Moirai or Fates. Clotho the ‘spinner’ spun a person’s thread at birth; Lachesis the ‘alloter’ measured its length; and Atropos the ‘unturnable’ cut it at its end.

This mythology is the foundation of Memento Mori, a trio of public artworks by painter and illustrator OxKing. Across three outdoor panels on the Hellenic Museum forecourt, the Moirai ask all who pass by to pause and consider: are you really living?

Memento Mori is supported by the Melbourne City Revitalisation Fund, a partnership between the Victorian Government and the City of Melbourne.