Greek Mythology Notes
← Back to all myths

Dike

concept
Δίκη
Justice and the natural order

Dike was both a goddess and the concept of justice — not human legislation but the cosmic order that governs right and wrong.

The Myth

Daughter of Zeus and Themis, Dike sat beside her father on Olympus and reported the wrongdoing of mortals. Hesiod warned that when judges gave crooked verdicts, Dike wept before Zeus and brought famine and plague upon the unjust city. She was closely related to Themis (divine law) and Eunomia (good order). In the constellation Virgo, she is sometimes identified as the last immortal to leave the earth at the end of the Golden Age, when human wickedness became too great to bear.

Parents

Zeus and Themis

Symbols

scalesswordreporting wrongdoingVirgo

Fun Fact

The constellation Virgo is sometimes identified as Dike — the last divine figure to abandon humanity, retreating to the stars when justice failed on earth.

Explore Further

Explore More