What are the looms of Ida referred to in The Trojan Women and other Greek myths?

Answer 1

The looms of Ida refer to the mythological looms where the Fates, also known as the Moirai, weave the destinies of mortals and gods. In Greek mythology, the Fates are three sisters named Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos, who spin, measure, and cut the thread of life respectively. The looms of Ida are believed to be located on Mount Ida in Crete, where the Fates carry out their divine task of determining the lifespan and fate of all beings. The concept of the looms of Ida symbolizes the inevitability and predestination of one's life in Greek mythology.

Answer 2

Mount Ida is a mountain in northwestern Turkey, southeast of the ruins of Troy.

In the scene where the chorus of captive Trojan women utter the line "No more through Ida's looms shall I ply my shuttle to and fro" they are lamenting the fact that they are being taken from Troy into slavery, never to see their homes in the shadow of Mount Ida again.

Another possible interpretation comes from the fact that Mount Ida was considered sacred to the mother goddess Cybele, sometimes called Mater Idaea, who was the protector of the Trojan prince Aeneas. Goddesses were often associated in one way or another with weaving, as it was considered a feminine task at the time, but honestly, there is little recorded of any specific link between Cybele and weaving - she was a lot more about lions, hawks, chariots, hunting and smiting, so it is far more likely the "Looms of Ida" are just looms near Mount Ida.

Oh, a loom is a device for weaving cloth, in case that is part of what you were asking. At the time the play was written, a loom consisted of a wooden frame strung with thread and a lever that pulled forward alternate strings, allowing a "shuttle" pulling another length of thread to pass behind them. There is more on weaving in link below.