Themis
was the Titan goddess of divine
law and order--the traditional rules of conduct first established by the gods.
She was also a prophetic goddess who presided over the most ancient oracles,
including Delphoi. In this role, she was the divine voice (themistes) who first instructed mankind in the primal
laws of justice and morality, such as the precepts of piety, the rules of
hospitality, good governance, conduct of assembly, and pious offerings to the
gods. In Greek, the word themis referred to
divine law, those rules of conduct long established by custom. Unlike the word nomos, the term was not usually used to describe laws
of human decree.
Themis
was an early bride of Zeus
and his first counsellor. She was often represented seated beside his throne
advising him on the precepts of divine law and the rules of fate.
Themis
was closely identified with Demeter
Thesmophoros ("Bringer of Law"). Indeed T hemis' six children, the spring-time
Horai and death-bringing Moirai, reflect the dual-functions of Demeter's own
daughter Persephone.
Themis was also identified with Gaia (Earth) especially in
the role of the oracular voice of earth.
minor and major, living in woods,
rivers, mountain peaks, etc.
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Themis
Before the Olympians settled in Mount Olympus, other Gods
reigned over the region of Greece. The primordial Greek gods were the earliest beings in existence,
the origins of the later generations of Greek Gods, and were created by Chaos. According
to Hesiod’s Theogony, the female primordial Greek gods are Chaos, Nyx, Hemera and Gaia; other
female deities, not born by Chaos, include Ananke, Thesis, Physis, the Nesoi
and Thalassa. Chaos is the mother of the Primordial Gods, and is depicted as an
empty void. Nyx represents night, while Hemera is day; they are sisters to
Erebus (darkness) and Aether (light) respectively. Gaia, the sister of Chaos,
represents Mother Earth. Ananke is compulsion, while Thesis represents Creation
and Physis is Nature. Finally, the Nesoi are the female goddesses of the Islands,
and Thalassa is the Sea.
The Primordial Gods were replaced by the Titans, children
of Uranus (god of the Sky) and Gaia (goddess of the Earth) that ruled during
the first Age of Men, the Golden Age. The female Titanesses were Mnemosyne,
Tethys, Theia, Phoebe, Rhea and Themis. Mnemosyne was the personification of
memory, mother of the nine Muses, while Tethys was an aquatic sea goddess,
mother of the chief rivers known to the Greeks, such as the Nile, the Alpheus,
and the Maeander. Theia, also called Euryphaessa, may have been a goddess of
the light. Phoebe, on the other hand, was considered the Goddess of the moon;
her grandchildren were the Olympians Apollo and Artemis, both of them also
having the name Phoebus and Phoebe respectively. Rhea was known as the mother of gods, as she gave birth to
the Olympians. Finally, Themis is described as “of good counsel”, the embodiment
of divine order, law and custom.