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Themis
A
common representation of Justice is a blind-folded
To the ancient Greeks she was known as Themis, originally the organizer of the communal affairs of humans, particularly assemblies. She was the wise and honest daughter of Uranos and Gaia, and wife to Zeus, who was his most trusted advisor. Her ability to foresee the future enabled her to become one of the oracles at Delphi, which in turn led to her establishment as the goddess of divine justice.
She was one of six sisters, called the Titanesses
Themis was the mother of the three Moirai, or Fates: Klotho, spun the thread of a human life; Lakhesis measured the length of the thread; and Atropos, or "She who cannot be turned", cut the thread. Thanks to University of Washington School of Law and the Theoi Project. Also see, "Justice and the Face of the Great Mother" by Donna Marie Giancola, Suffolk University
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woman holding a set of
scales. The origin of the Goddess of Justice goes back to antiquity. She
was referred to as Ma'at by the ancient Egyptians and was often
depicted carrying a sword with an ostrich feather in her hair (but no
scales) to symbolize truth and justice. The term magistrate is
derived from Ma'at because she assisted Osiris in the judgment of the dead
by weighing their hearts.
(Theia, goddess of sight; Rhea, goddess of fertility; Themis,
goddess of justice; Mnemosyne, goddess of memory and words; Phoebe,
goddess of "answering intellect"; and Tethys, goddess of breastfeeding and
underground water). Classical representations of Themis did not show her
blindfolded (because of her talent for prophecy, she had no need to be
blinded) nor was she holding a sword (because she represented common
consent, not coercion). The scales in her left hand represented fairness.
The sword and chain in her right hand were a symbols of severely enforced
justice. She was also known as Urania.
The Roman goddess of justice
was called Justitia and was often portrayed as evenly balancing
both scales and a sword and wearing a blindfold. She was sometimes
portrayed holding the fasces (a bundle of rods around an ax
symbolizing judicial authority) in one hand and a flame in the other
(symbolizing truth).