Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities o ...

, Nomos (

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic pe ...

: Νομος) was the

daemon Daimon or Daemon (Ancient Greek: , "god", "godlike", "power", "fate") originally referred to a lesser deity or guiding spirit such as the daimons of ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology and of later Hellenistic religion and Hell ...

of laws, statutes, and ordinances. By one account, Nomos' wife is Eusebia (Piety), and their daughter is Dike (Justice).

Mythology

Nomos was described as the ruler of gods and men:

The holy king of Gods and men I call, celestial Law omos the righteous seal of all;
The seal which stamps whate'er the earth contains, Nature's firm basis, and the liquid plains:
Stable, and starry, of harmonious frame, preserving laws eternally the same:
Thy all-composing pow'r in heaven appears, connects its frame, and props the starry spheres;
And shakes weak Envy with tremendous sound, toss'd by thy arm in giddy whirls around.
'Tis thine, the life of mortals to defend, and crown existence with a blessed end;
For thy command and alone, of all that lives order and rule to ev'ry dwelling gives:
Ever observant of the upright mind, and of just actions the companion kind;
Foe to the lawless, with avenging ire, their steps involving in destruction dire.
Come, bless, abundant pow'r, whom all revere, by all desir'd, with favr'ing mind draw near;
Give me thro' life, on thee to fix my fight, and ne'er forsake the equal paths of right.''Orphic Hymns to Nomos'' 63

Notes

References

* ''The Hymns of Orpheus''. Translated by Taylor, Thomas (1792). University of Pennsylvania Press, 1999
Online version at the theoi.com
Greek gods Personifications in Greek mythology {{Greek-deity-stub