HK Central Statue Square Legislative Council Building n Themis s

Lady Justice ( la, Iustitia) is an allegorical

personification Personification occurs when a thing or abstraction is represented as a person, in literature or art, as a type of anthropomorphic metaphor. The type of personification discussed here excludes passing literary effects such as "Shadows hold their b ...

of the moral force in judicial systems. Her attributes are scales, a sword and sometimes a blindfold. She often appears as a pair with Prudentia. Lady Justice originates from the personification of Justice in Ancient Roman art known as ''Iustitia'' or ''Justitia'', who is equivalent to the Greek goddess Dike.

The goddess Justitia

The origin of Lady Justice was Justitia (or Iustitia), the goddess of Justice within Roman mythology. Justitia was introduced by emperor Augustus, and was thus not a very old deity in the Roman pantheon. Justice was one of the virtues celebrated by emperor Augustus in his ''

clipeus virtutis In the military of classical antiquity, a ''clipeus'' (, Ancient Greek: ἀσπίς) was a large shield worn by the Greek hoplites and Romans as a piece of defensive armor, which they carried upon the arm, to protect them from the blows of thei ...

'', and a temple of Iustitia was established in Rome by emperor Tiberius. Iustitia became a symbol for the virtue of justice with which every emperor wished to associate his regime; emperor Vespasian minted coins with the image of the goddess seated on a throne called ''Iustitia Augusta'', and many emperors after him used the image of the goddess to proclaim themselves protectors of justice. Though formally called a goddess with her own temple and cult shrine in Rome, it appears that she was from the onset viewed more as an artistic symbolic personification rather than as an actual deity with religious significance.

Depiction

El pesado del corazón en el Papiro de Hunefer

The personification of justice balancing the scales dates back to the goddess Maat, and later Isis, of ancient Egypt. The Hellenic deities Themis and Dike were later goddesses of justice. Themis was the embodiment of divine order, law, and custom, in her aspect as the personification of the divine rightness of law.

Scales

Lady Justice is most often depicted with a set of scales typically suspended from one hand, upon which she balances the act and consequences of the act to achieve equilibrium and, therefore, justice. The Greek goddess Dike is depicted holding a set of scales:

Blindfold

Since the 16th century, Lady Justice has often been depicted wearing a blindfold. The blindfold was originally a satirical addition intended to show justice as blind to the injustice carried on before her, but it has been reinterpreted over time and is now understood to represent

impartiality Impartiality (also called evenhandedness or fair-mindedness) is a principle of justice holding that decisions should be based on objective criteria, rather than on the basis of bias, prejudice, or preferring the benefit to one person over another ...

, the ideal that justice should be applied without regard to wealth, power, or other status. The earliest Roman coins depicted Justitia with the sword in one hand and the scale in the other, but with her eyes uncovered. Justitia was only commonly represented as "blind" since the middle of the 16th century. The first known representation of blind Justice is

Hans Gieng Hans Gieng (first mentioned 1525 – died 1562) was a Swiss Renaissance sculptor best known for his public fountain figures in the Old Town of Bern as well as Fribourg. Biography Gieng, who was probably of Swabian origin, is recorded to ...

's 1543 statue on the '' Gerechtigkeitsbrunnen'' (Fountain of Justice) in

Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...

. Instead of using the

Janus In ancient Roman religion and myth, Janus ( ; la, Ianvs ) is the god of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality, doorways, passages, frames, and endings. He is usually depicted as having two faces. The month of January is named for Janu ...

approach, many sculptures simply leave out the blindfold altogether. For example, atop the

Old Bailey The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to as the Old Bailey after the street on which it stands, is a criminal court building in central London, one of several that house the Crown Court of England and Wales. The s ...

courthouse in London, a statue of Lady Justice stands without a blindfold; the courthouse brochures explain that this is because Lady Justice was originally not blindfolded, and because her "maidenly form" is supposed to guarantee her impartiality which renders the blindfold redundant. Another variation is to depict a blindfolded Lady Justice as a human scale, weighing competing claims in each hand. An example of this can be seen at the Shelby County Courthouse in Memphis, Tennessee.

Sword

The sword represented authority in ancient times, and conveys the idea that justice can be swift and final.

Toga

The

Greco-Roman The Greco-Roman civilization (; also Greco-Roman culture; spelled Graeco-Roman in the Commonwealth), as understood by modern scholars and writers, includes the geographical regions and countries that culturally—and so historically—were di ...

garment symbolizes the status of the philosophical attitude that embodies justice.

In computer systems

Unicode version 4.1.0 implemented a scales symbol at code point U+2696, that may be used to represent the scales of justice.

In art

Sculpture

File:Berner Iustitia.jpg, Lady Justice with sword, scales and blindfold on the Gerechtigkeitsbrunnen in Berne, Switzerland—1543 File:A Justica Alfredo Ceschiatti Brasilia Brasil.jpg, ''The Justice'', in front of the Supreme Court of Brazil File:Pediment courthouse, Rome, Italy.jpg, Lady Justice seated at the entrance of The Palace of Justice, Rome, Italy File:Justitia1.jpg, Sculpture of Lady Justice on the ' in Frankfurt, Germany File:Justicia Ottawa.jpg, ''Justitia'', outside the

Supreme Court of Canada The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the Supreme court, highest court in the Court system of Canada, judicial system of Canada. It comprises List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, nine justices, wh ...

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

, Ontario, Canada File:Statue of Justice, Central Criminal Court, London, UK - 20030311.jpg, The Central Criminal Court or

, London, UK File:Itojyuku themis.jpg, Themis, Itojyuku,

Shibuya-ku Shibuya (渋谷区 ''Shibuya-ku'') is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. As a major commercial and finance center, it houses two of the busiest railway stations in the world, Shinjuku Station (southern half) and Shibuya Station. As of April 1, 2 ...

, Japan File:Justice statue.jpg, 19th-century sculpture of the ''Power of Law'' at Olomouc, Czech Republic—lacks the blindfold and scales of Justice, replacing the latter with a book File:Law place du Palais-Bourbon Paris.jpg, ''The Law'', by Jean Feuchère File:JMR-Memphis1.jpg, Shelby County Courthouse, Memphis, Tennessee, United States File:Goddess of justice.jpg, Themis, outside the

Supreme Court of Queensland The Supreme Court of Queensland is the highest court in the Australian State of Queensland. It was formerly the Brisbane Supreme Court, in the colony of Queensland. The original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court allows its trial division to he ...

, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia File:NewarkJustice1.jpg, '' Justice'' by

Diana Moore Diana most commonly refers to: * Diana (name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Diana (mythology), ancient Roman goddess of the hunt and wild animals; later associated with the Moon * Diana, Princess of Wales (1961–1997 ...

, Government Center, Newark, New Jersey File:Justitia szobra a Kúria épületében.jpg, ''Justitia'' in the Superior Courts Building in Budapest, Hungary. File:Fronton oud gerechtsgebouw, Gent.jpg, Themis, Old courthouse, Ghent, Belgium File:Justice Statue Iran.jpg, ''Justitia'',

Tehran courthouse Courthouse of Tehran ({{lang, fa, کاخِ دادگستریِ تهران – Kāx e Dādgostari ye Tehrān), also known as the Palace of Justice, is a historical courthouse in Tehran, Iran. The building was designed by Czechoslovak architect Sta ...

, Tehran, Iran File:Campinas, detalhe do Palácio da Justiça.jpg, ''Justiça'',

high-relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

in front of Justice Palace, Campinas, Brazil File:Carl Spitzweg - Das Auge des Gesetzes (Justitia) - 1857.jpg, , Carl Spitzweg, 1857

Painting

File:Sala di costantino, giustizia.jpg, Fresco in the , Raphael Rooms, Raphael, c. 1520 File:Luca Giordano 013.jpg, Luca Giordano, Palazzo Medici Riccardi in Florence, 1684–1686 File:Gerechtigkeit-1537.jpg, ''Gerechtigkeit'',

Lucas Cranach the Elder Lucas Cranach the Elder (german: Lucas Cranach der Ältere ; – 16 October 1553) was a German Renaissance painter and printmaker in woodcut and engraving. He was court painter to the Electors of Saxony for most of his career, and is know ...

, 1537

Heraldry

Lady Justice and her symbols are used in heraldry, especially in the

arms Arms or ARMS may refer to: *Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to: People * Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader Coat of arms or weapons *Armaments or weapons **Fi ...

and seals of legal government agencies. DEU Ilshofen COA.svg, Justitia in arms of Ilshofen in Baden-Württemberg Svea hovrätt vapen.svg, Scales and sword in the arms of a Swedish court of law Hörby kommunvapen - Riksarkivet Sverige.png, Scales balanced on a sword in the arms of

Hörby Hörby () (old da, Hørby) is a locality and the seat of Hörby Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden with 15 631 inhabitants in 2019. 6 km (3.7 mi) south-east of the center of Hörby is at least since 1959 the location of a radio and ...

Landskrona fulla vapen.svg, Prudentia and Justitia as supporters in the armorial achievement of Landskrona File:US-Fractional (3rd Issue)-$0.50-Fr.1355.jpg, Justice holding scales, $0.50 U.S. fractional currency.

References

External links

DOJ Seal - History and Motto
{{DEFAULTSORT:Justice Justice goddesses Personifications in Roman mythology Roman goddesses Heraldic charges

The goddess Justitia

Depiction

Scales

Blindfold

Sword

Toga

In computer systems

In art

Sculpture

Painting

Heraldry

See also

Goddesses of Justice and related concepts

Astronomy

Notable programs

In fiction

In popular culture

References

External links