Themis or Temis, a titanide in mythology of Ancient Greece - the goddess of justice, the second wife of the god Zeus. The word "femis" means "establishment according to custom," it can be found in the names of some places known since the heyday of Mycenaean culture. From the union with Zeus, she was born three Moira: Lachesis (Fate), Clotho (Straight), Atropos (Inevitable) and three Ora: Dicke (Justice), Eiren (Peace) and Evnomiya (Law). According to Aeschylus, the goddess of justice Themis is the mother of Prometheus. She even appears to be one deity, but under different names. Having the prophetic gift, the goddess of justice Themis, reveals to Prometheus the secret that from the marriage of Zeus and Thetis a son will be born who will overthrow Zeus himself. She receives the Delphic Oracle as a gift from Gaia , there she gives predictions to her sister Phoebe, who in turn passes them to her grandson Apollon. Themis convenes on the advice of the gods. Helps Zeus start the Trojan War.
The goddess of justice taught the Greeks sacrifices, divinations and divine rites, she invented a heroic hexameter. Her main altar was at Stomion in Olympia next to the altar of the goddess Gaia and the god Zeus. In Olympic mythology, it is no longer identical with the earth, but generated by it and is the basis of the rule of law as the wife of Zeus. Themis, the goddess of justice, ruled the thirteen-month year, which in turn was divided into two seasons by the winter and summer solstices. These seasons were personified in the Athenian tradition of Carpo and Tallo - deities of the "ripe fruit" and "flowering". Themis dedicated the seventy-ninth Orphic anthem.
The goddess of justice was always portrayed blindfolded. The blindfold in her eyes means impartiality, and scales are an ancient symbol of justice and measure. On these scales all the actions of mortals, committed by them during life, all good and all evil are weighed. The fate of people after their death depended precisely on which of these bowls outweighs. The goddess of justice also holds in her hands a cornucopia - a symbol of retribution to those who stand before her judgment.
Themis now allegorically means law, its scales symbolize justice, and the priests or servants of Themis are judges. In the Roman tradition, the goddess of justice passed from the Greeks, but instead of a cornucopia, Justice has a sword in her hands. Themis is a globally recognized symbol of justice, her image on the emblems of the courts, and her statues in the courtrooms. The name of Themis has become a household name, now, if they say, for example, “Russian Themis,” they mean the Russian court.
But the scales and the sword are attributes so fundamental and ancient that their discovery, as symbols of justice, cannot be attributed to the ancient Greeks. Indeed, in almost all ancient mythologies, the ruler of the underworld weighed the evil and good deeds of each person. The scales are in the left hand of the goddess, since it is the left half of the body that is considered perceiving. The sword represents spiritual strength and retribution. In the hands of the goddess of justice, he symbolizes retribution. Since the sword is pointed upwards, it indicates the highest justice, the "will of heaven", and in addition, the constant readiness for its use. It is double-edged, because it not only punishes, but also warns. The goddess holds him in his right hand, which means the side of the "right cause" and power.
Of course, in terms of composition, the figure wins more when the sword is lowered, but the lowered sword is a symbol of the end of the struggle, victory and a return to peaceful life. And justice in our corrupt state will probably not come soon, so it’s too early for Themis to lower his sword. The main thing is that the sword of the Russian Themis fell only on the heads of truly criminals and passed innocent and kind.