Description
The personification of justice balancing the scales of truth and justice dates back to the goddess Maat , and later Isis , of ancient Egypt. The Hellenic deities Themis and Dice were later goddesses of justice. Themis was the embodiment of a divine order, law and good manners, in her aspect as the personification of the divine justice of the law. However, a more direct connection is to Dice, daughter of Themis, who was portrayed carrying scales.
“If any god had been holding Dice’s balance level” is a surviving fragment of the poetry of Bacchylides . Ancient Rome adopted the image of a female goddess of justice, who was called Iustitia . Since Roman times, Iustitia has often been depicted carrying scales and a sword, blindfolded. Its modern iconography frequently adorns courts and tribunals, and combines the attributes of various goddesses who embodied the proper rule for the Greeks and Romans, mixing the blindfolded Roman goddess Fortuna (luck) with the Greek Tyche (fate ), and the sword of Nemesis (revenge).
Justice is most often depicted with a scale typically suspended from her left hand, on which the strength of a case’s support and opposition is measured. She is also often seen carrying a two-edged sword in her right hand, symbolizing the power of reason and justice, which can be wielded for or against either party.
