Themis (Titan Justice)
titanThe Titaness of divine law, custom, and natural order who served as Zeus's first counsellor and held Delphi before Apollo.
The Myth
Themis was the Titaness of divine law — not human legislation (which belonged to her daughter Eunomia) but the deeper natural order, the way things ought to be. She was the daughter of Ouranos and Gaia, and unlike most Titans, she was never banished to Tartarus. Instead, she became Zeus's first wife or counsellor, sitting beside him on Olympus and providing the wisdom that made his rule legitimate. She bore him the Horae (Seasons) — Eunomia (Good Order), Dike (Justice), and Eirene (Peace) — and the Moirai (Fates). Aeschylus records that Themis held the Oracle of Delphi after Gaia and before Phoebe, making her part of the prophetic succession that culminated in Apollo. Her name means that which is laid down — the established custom, the unwritten law that governs both gods and mortals. She presided over assemblies, and it was Themis who convened the gods on Olympus whenever Zeus commanded.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth:
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