The Image of Themis in the Antique Legal Consciousness

Yurii Hotsuliak

Winnicki Narodowy Uniwersytet Agrarny, ul. Pirogova 3, 532 Winnica, Ukraina
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6765-4592

Natalia Opolska

Winnicki Narodowy Uniwersytet Agrarny, ul. Pirogova 3, 532 Winnica, Ukraina
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1507-0178

Abstract

The article analyzes how the rule of justice was understood in antiquity. This principle was identified by the goddess Temida by the ancients. The goddess Temida in Greek mythology was the daughter of Uranos and Gaia, as well as the first wife of Zeus and his chief adviser. She was responsible for establishing order in society and identified with justice. Temida was often depicted in the form of a woman with eyes covered by a band that symbolized impartiality. Significantly, the scope of responsibility of the goddess Temida was also associated by the ancients with the concept of truth, which the Greeks referred to the actual state of reality. On this basis, it was shown in the article that justice was identified by the ancients primarily with impartiality and was justified by a human order that the world rules itself.

Keywords:

law, Themis, antiquity, justice