Themis, goddess of justice. Discussion on LiveInternet

Great Britain

London

Themis and three nymphs

British Museum, London, United Kingdom

Liverpool

This painting of the goddess Themis is a synthesis of paganism and Christianity. Although the subject is taken from the mythology of Hellas, the style itself is very reminiscent of that used to depict many icons. The painting is by Alfred George Stevens, who painted it around 1853. It is now carefully preserved in the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool.

Themis in a family of Olympians.

Themis was the daughter of the two titans Uranus and Gaia, who personified the sky and the earth. Some legends say that Themis became the second wife of Zeus. She was able to win over the thunderer by her brilliant wit and desire for order.

It was this goddess who was entrusted with enforcing the law, both on earth among men and on Olympus, in the society of the gods. In ancient Greece in the temples of Themis justice was administered and her priests were the judges.

Goddess Themis / © Felicia Cano

Greek legends say that Themis did a lot for the people. In the first place, she taught them how to properly honor the gods. Sacrifice was a complex science in which one could not make mistakes or be inaccurate.

Also, Themis was the patroness of soothsayers. In my opinion, this is very symbolic, because it is a person's actions, their correctness and deliberateness that determine his future.

Germany

Berlin

Themis and Aegeus

Antique Collection, Berlin, Germany

Allegory of the Rule of Justice and Rach. 1750г

Bassenge Gallery, Berlin, Germany

Dresden

Justice. Giovanni Battista Luteri Dossi. Painting, 1544.
Picture Gallery. Dresden. Germany

Frankfurt

The canvas by the Dutch artist Martin van Heemskerck, who painted it back in 1556, looks quite unusual compared to the other paintings. Despite the classic subject matter, the goddess looks frankly tired, clearly disappointed in humanity and her hard work. Art connoisseurs can see the painting in Frankfurt, in the Strunkede Gallery.

Themis - Mythology

Themis is a goddess revered by well-meaning Greeks, called out to her for injustice and a desire to punish the wrongdoer. She was also a great Pythia, a soothsayer, as the myths in which the goddess of law and order figures attest. She is treated with reverence by the Olympian celestials and humans.

Themis and Zeus

Zeus was dominated by Themis' wisdom and experience. It was as if she could see right through everyone and knew something about the other gods that no one else knew. The goddess was authorized to convene the gods for a council and she helped Zeus in unleashing the Trojan War. Zeus was happy to have such an advisor for his wife who accepted him as he was and even after their separation and the marriage of Zeus to Hera, the ruler of Olympus consulted and trusted Themis with his innermost things. The goddesses of the seasons of Horus (Hora), the three daughters of Themis and Zeus, came into being as a result of their love:

Eunomia
- Eunomia - a personification of lawfulness, peace and order;
Dike
- truth and justice, overseeing the observance of truth in the world of men, reporting to her father every deviation from the truth;
Eirene
- daughter of Zeus and Themis, embodying peaceful life.

In a later interpretation of the myths according to Geosidus, the children of Zeus and Themis were Moira, goddesses of fate:

Clotho
- spinning the thread of life;
Lachesis
- determines fate, "the lot "rong>.
Atropos
- cuts off the thread of life (inevitability, inexorability of fate, death).

Themis and Nemesis

The two goddesses of the ancient Greek pantheon are similar and complement each other. Themis's power is to judge those in dispute, to exonerate the innocent and to bring justice. With the Greeks Nemesis was specifically represented as punishment or vengeance falling on the heads of transgressors and lawlessness. Nemesis had similar attributes to Themis with sword and scales, sometimes depicted with a whip - as a symbol of swiftness of blow (punishment) and a bridle, humbling the temper of the arrogant and rebellious.

Italy

Veneto

Veronese - Justice.

Duomo, Castelfranco, Veneto, Italy

Modena

Deucaln and Pyrrha praying in front of a statue of the goddess Themis

Jacopo (Robusti) Tintoretto

Painting, 1542

Galleria Estense, Modena, Italy

Naples

Justice in the Embrace of Peace. Artemisia Gentileschi c. 1635

Royal Palace. Naples, Italy.

Belgium

Pomreil

A rather bold work from Russian artist Zinaida Evgenievna Serebryakova. It is not even a painting, but a panel painted in 1935. Today it is kept in the house of Manoir du Relais in the village of Pomreuil, near the town of Mons in Belgium. Themis is much more naked than is customary in the tradition of artists, and the blindfold is missing. The goddess holds the scales in her hand, but the sword lies near her feet.

History of appearance

Themis is an ancient deity of the titan generation, the daughter of the sky god Uranus and the earth goddess Gaia. The children of the titan Themis herself by Zeus are the goddesses of the seasons, Ora, who are responsible for order in nature. Three of them serve as gatekeepers at the gates of Olympus.

Themis

One of the Ors is the goddess of truth, Dike, who, like her mother, uses scales as an attribute. Dicke observes the world of men, where she notices all manifestations of injustice and lies and hastens to inform Zeus, her father. According to one version of the myth, the goddess Dike lived among people during the Golden Age, but then she ascended into heaven, and her scales turned into the constellation Libra.

Another Ora, Karpo, goddess of the seasons, became the companion of Aphrodite, the goddess of love. Carpo is depicted as a young beauty adorned with fruit. The goddess of blossoms Fallo, also Ora, is similarly portrayed. In art, this goddess was often represented as a captivating young girl with a flower-filled apron.

Ora

Another daughter of Themis, Eunomia, was in charge of law and order. Another, Eirene, was in charge of peace. To the goddess Eirene in Athens was offered a bloodless sacrifice, and after the conclusion of peace with Sparta they erected an altar to this goddess. Eirene was depicted together with Plutos, the god of wealth. This symbolized the fact that peace leads to prosperity.

Moira, the goddesses of fortune, are also the daughters of Themis. The ancient Greek playwright Aeschylus also wrote that Themis is the mother of Prometheus, the rebellious titan who protected people from the arbitrariness of the gods.

Themis has the gift of divination and is involved in the myth of the origin of the Delphic oracle. Mother Earth Gaia gave this oracle to Themis to give fortune-telling there. Themis then passed the oracle on to her own sister, who gave it to the god Apollo, who was her grandson.

In Olympus Themis acts as herald, announcing the will of Zeus and summoning the gods to council. The heroine also passes on Zeus' commands to the people. With the help of Themis, Zeus unleashed the Trojan War.

Poland

Warsaw

Themis. Bacciarelli

National Museum. Warsaw, Poland.

A magnificent example of creativity is a painting by the Italian painter Marcello Bacciarelli. He called his creation "Allegory of Justice", depicting Themis. He worked on the canvas from 1792 to 1793. Today it is on display in the Lazienki Palace in Warsaw.

Slovenia

Ljubljana

Justice. National Museum of Slovenia. Ljubljana, Slovenia

Unusual creation can be safely called a picture of our countryman - Anton Pavlovich Losenko. He painted it in 1765, using a very unusual symbolism. On the one hand, in the hand of Themis are the usual scales, used by her to weigh all the deeds of people. On the other hand, she is embracing an ostrich. It is not clear what the author wanted to say, but the painting looks just fine. The naked breast corresponds to the tradition - for some reason, this is how many artists of the Renaissance depicted Themis or Justitia.

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Tuesday, October 15, 2021 00:54 + to a quote Galyshenka

All posts by the author In the modern world, the Greek goddess of justice Themis has not lost her symbolic meaning. Her other name is also known to almost everyone - in Roman mythology, Themis acquired a new name, Justicia.

Mathias Blumenthals (Norwegian, 1719-1763) Iustitia Majestata. In the modern world, Justice has lost her title of goddess and has become an allegorical personification of moral forces in the legal system; now Justice is a system of judicial institutions; of political departments... Once Justice had only one priest, now there are countless of her servants of law. But all the servants of Justice continue to serve Themis, because Themis has retained her title of Goddess of Justice. It should be emphasized that it is justice, not fairness. Themis (Θέμις), goddess of law and legal order, as the basis of the rule of law, preserves the foundations of the state, because that is what she serves. In the Mycenaean era the word "femis" (establishment by custom) was even found in the names of localities; the name of the goddess is also used to denote the abstract concept of legal norms (θέμιστες) regulating social life.

Giulio Romano, Justice Ivstitia (Fresco) Themis is the personification of the law, just, punitive, one for all and impartial. This is expressed by the attributes with which Themis is depicted and associated - the blindfold, sword and scales. However, this way of depicting Themis came already from ancient Rome.

Triumph of Justice, Gabriel Metsu The scales, an attribute of Themis, are an ancient symbol of measure and justice. On the scales of justice are weighed good and evil, the deeds committed by mortals in life. Posthumous fate of people depended on which bowl would be tipped. The horn of plenty in the hand of Themis is a symbol of retribution or non-retribution to those who stand before her court.

Hendrik Van Balen allegory The Romans put a punishing sword in her hand instead of the horn of plenty and put a blindfold over her eyes, so that she became impartial, or rather blind.

Julius Stahl (1802-1861): The image of the goddess holding her sword pointing upwards indicates the divine will of heaven.

Allegory of Justice by Gaetano Gandolfi (1760)

Stanze di Raffaello, lit. "rooms of Raphael"; from stanza - room) - rooms with frescoes by Raphael in the Pontifical Palace of the Vatican.

Giovanni Andrea de Ferrari (Italian, 1598-1669) Allegory of Justice. Palazzo Bianco, Musei di Strada Nuova, Genoa, Italy Later on, Themis was increasingly depicted with the sword pointing down. This position is interpreted as a reliance on strength.

Triumph of Justice, Gabriel Metsu

"Iustitia" by the artist van Heemskerck Marte.

Themis, daughter of Uranus and Gaia, was the second wife of Zeus (before Hera). Her daughters are also very positive and strict - they are goddesses of fate, truth, law and order, justice and peace. Prometheus stands out among her sons.

Lady Justice sits with her sword, holding up her scales FEMIDA The noble daughter of Gaia with Uranus is Themis! In countenance like a blossom of fragrant flowers, The secrets of the Oracle at Delphi withdrew from dreams, proclaiming the will of the gods in the words of a poet. To Theebo she bestowed the art of divination, Revered queen, First revealed to the mortal rites of the sacraments, And taught us to reverence the initiations, With deepest recollection. Come down to the mystics, O fair one, save us with counsel, For to thee we look with hopeful eyes, Fill the vessels of ignorance with bright reason, And illuminate the inquiring mind with shining light.

Giordano Luka - Dzhordano Luka : Frescoes from the gallery of the Palazzo Medici Riccardi (Florence). Justice 1686 . Baroque . 1686 Themis was a wise goddess with the gift of divination. She was called the second patroness of the Delphi oracle after Gaia, which was later transferred to Apollo. Themis warned Zeus that he should not marry Thetis because that marriage would produce a son who would be stronger than his father. It was Themis who advised Pyrenea and Deucalion how the human race should be reborn after the thunderer had sent a world flood over the people. She also warned Atlanteus that one day one of Zeus's sons would steal the golden apples from his Hesperid daughters.

Netherlandish School, 16th Century, An allegory of justice.

LAGRENYE, Louis-Jean-François Justice and Clemency 1765 Ora and Moira (Edward John Poynter) Ora, O daughters of the goddess Themis and Zeus the Lord! You, Eunomia and Dica and Eirene, happy many! Springtime and meadow, holy, in endless flowers, You are fragrant, motley, with flowery fragrance, Walking around, charming face and young forever, Woven of many different colors your dewy peplos. You and Persephone play together at the time, As Charitas and Moira bring the goddess back to light, Dancing round and round to Zeus in glory.

Johan Ludwig Lund (1777-1867), One of the Ors is the goddess of truth, Dicke, who, like her mother, uses scales as an attribute. Dicke observes the world of men, where she notices all manifestations of injustice and falsehood and hastens to inform Zeus, her father. According to one version of the myth, the goddess Dicke lived among men during the Golden Age, but then she ascended to heaven and her scales became the constellation of Libra.

Hans Zatzka Another ora, Karpo, goddess of the seasons, became the companion of Aphrodite, the goddess of love. Carpo is depicted as a young beauty adorned with fruit. The goddess of Fallot's blossoms, also Ora, was similarly portrayed. In art this goddess was often represented as a captivating young girl with a flower-filled apron.

Marco Bijo "Moira" Moira, goddess of fortune, is also the daughter of Themis. The ancient Greek playwright Aeschylus also wrote that Themis is the mother of Prometheus, the rebellious titan who protected people from the arbitrary rule of the gods.

The Unity and Justice by Theodoor van Thulden. Themis and Nemesis, two goddesses of the ancient Greek pantheon, are similar and complementary. The power of Themis is to judge those in dispute, to acquit the innocent and to bring justice. With the Greeks Nemesis was specifically represented as punishment or vengeance falling on the heads of transgressors and lawlessness. Nemesis had similar attributes to Themis, sword and scales, sometimes depicted with a whip - as a symbol of speed of blow (punishment) and a bridle, humbling the temper of the arrogant and unruly.

An Allegory of Justice Combatting Injustice Jean Marc Nattier, c. 1737 (Allegory of Justice and Injustice) https://womanadvice.ru/femida-boginya-pravosudiya-v-drevney-grecii https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Фемида