The Myth Of Themis, The Goddess Of Justice

The myth of Themis is the myth of the goddess of justice, order and natural or divine law. In fact, the word Themis in Greek meant ‘natural law’, which was considered stronger than the laws created by the gods. Anyway, this deity ruled both areas.

According to the myth of Themis, this goddess directed the natural order of the union between a man and a woman and the family ties. She was in charge of guiding people on the right path , indicating what the good habits were and making sure that everyone obeyed the laws. She was considered generous, personable, and wise.

The myth of Themis also points out that this goddess was gifted with the gift of prophecy and clairvoyance. She was able to know all the secrets, even those that were hidden from Zeus, god of gods. Likewise, she served as protector of the oppressed and rector of due hospitality.

The origin of the myth of Themis

The goddess Themis was a titan, daughter of Uranus, the titan who personified the sky; and of Gea, the personification of the Earth. He had five siblings: Phoebe, Mnemosyne, Rea Tea, and Tethys. All of them appear at the very origin of Greek mythology.

The myth of Themis says that she was a beautiful woman, dressed in a white tunic and frequently represented with a blindfold; This is considered a symbol of his equanimity, but also an expression of his ability to prophesy, which he did not need his eyes to see.

Themis carries in his hand a scale , which represents justice: he weighs the good and the bad, the bad and the good, the arguments of all the parties and this allows him to give his verdict. Sometimes it is represented with a sword in hand, a symbol of punishment for those who ignore the law; other times it carries a curnocopy, a sign of prosperity.

The Oracle of Delphi

Although the Oracle of Delphi  was consecrated to Apollo, Themis was one of the goddesses who was behind him, exercising her divinatory arts. In fact, this deity received the oracle from the hands of his mother, Gaea, and after a while it was she who gave it to Apollo, although other versions indicate that the god had to defeat a dragon to get hold of it.

The Oracle of Delphi was the most famous in Greece. It is said that there was a crack from which vapors came out and that a shepherd noticed that his goats behaved strangely when they approached the place. The pastor approached and when he was there he began to prophesy. The story spread and people came from all over, also to prophesy.

Later it was decided to erect a building and appoint a woman, the fortune teller, to take over the site. The goddess Themis was one of the fortune tellers of the place. On the other hand, it is also said that it was this deity who taught Deucalión and Pirra, the first humans, how to repopulate the Earth after the great flood of the world.

Themis and Zeus

Themis was the second wife of Zeus, after the latter abruptly ended his union with Metis, who represented intelligence and cunning. Gaea had warned Zeus that Metis would give birth to two children and that one of them would take away her power, just as Zeus himself had done with Cronos, his father. So Zeus swallowed his first wife and thus ended the problem.

Themis and Zeus had several children: the Fates (or Moiras) and the working hours (Horae) or seasons. In some versions the Astraea (another personification of justice), the nymphs of the river Eridanus, and the Hesperides are also counted in the offspring. There are certain versions of the myth of Themis that indicate that she had Iapetus as a lover and that together they were the parents of Prometheus, the titan who stole fire to give it to mortals.

Themis is said to have been on Earth during the reign of Cronus, god of eternal time, during what became known as the Golden Age. Then came the Silver Age and then the Iron Age. During the latter, men became evil and violent, which horrified the goddess.

That is why Themis escaped and went to the top of the sky; Zeus, who understood her, turned her into the constellation known as Virgo. In much of the Western judicial courts the figure of Themis is still used as a symbol of justice.