Lady Justice

Iustitia, Justitia or Lady Justice (Latin: Iustitia, the Roman goddess of Justice, who is equivalent to the Greek goddess Themis) is an allegorical personification of the moral force in judicial systems. Her attributes are a blindfold, a balance and a sword. She often appears as a pair with Prudentia, who holds a mirror and a snake.

Depiction

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. However, a more direct connection is to Themis' daughter Dike, who was portrayed carrying scales.

"If some god had been holding level the balance of goddess which is Dike" is a surviving fragment of Bacchylides' poetry. Ancient Rome adopted the image of a female goddess of justice, which it called Iustitia. Since Roman times, Iustitia has frequently been depicted carrying scales and a sword, and wearing a blindfold. Her modern iconography frequently adorns courthouses and courtrooms, and conflates the attributes of several goddesses who embodied Right Rule for Greeks and Romans, blending Roman blindfolded Fortuna (fate) with Hellenistic Greek Tyche (luck), and sword-carrying Nemesis (retribution).

Lady Justice (comics)

Lady Justice is a comic book published by Tekno Comix, starting in 1995. It was created by Neil Gaiman and the first three issues were written by Wendi Lee, with art by Greg Boone. The remaining issues of the first series were written by C. J. Henderson, with art by Michael Netzer/Steve Lieber in the first series and Fred Harper/Mike Harris in the second.

Publication history

The story was told over two series, lasting eleven and nine issues respectively, published in 1995 to 1996 and 1996 to 1997.

References