Themis: Justice Will Prevail

Themis by me.

In one of my previous posts, I have mentioned that only two of the six original Titanides never left for mankind's benefit after the Titanomachy: one was Mnemosyne, and the other was Themis. Themis, I must say, is one enduring goddess--being one of a few who have actually met Uranus; ruled a part of the cosmos under Cronus; survived the Titanomachy; and served during the reign of Zeus. Aside from that of the Olympians, representations of her are also still quite popular up to the present times.

Themis was the eldest daughter of Uranus and Gaea, according to many ancient writers. (I am having hints from various sources that Oceanus was the eldest Titan, Hyperion the second, Themis the third... Cronus the youngest, I'll update you when I'm done with my interpolation.^^)

An early bride of Zeus (again?), she was the mother of the Horae or Seasons, and, according to many sources (although I don't particularly agree) the Moirae or Fates.

(I'll discuss the reason on why I differ with the Moirae's parentage in their own article. Soon.) 

The Daily Prophet (non-HP edition)

To Themis
- Fumigation from Frankincense -

Illustrious Themis, celestial born flower of Earth,
I invoke the Virgin with beautiful eyes.

You were first to grant the gift of prophesy to man,
and in the deep recesses of sacred Pytho,
You ruled alone and renowned.

From Your power flows the inspiration
that You gave to Apollo and the oracles.
Light formed, divine Majestic Virgin,
You taught mortals the rites of Initiation,
And in Your wanderings in the night
the Choirs of Dionysus are Your joy.

You reveal the holy honors of Powers Divine,
Be present, Goddess, hear our prayer,
and visit these mystic rites with Your favor.

 -Orphic hymn to Themis, from Sybilline Order 

As the firstborn daughter of the Universe's power couple, Themis received quite a lot of favors. First off, she inherited her mother's ability to ACCURATELY tell the future. Yes, her sisters were also prophetic goddesses; but she had a lot more talent when it comes to that. She was at first THE goddess of prophecy; in contrast with the other prophetic deities. She presided over the most ancient earthly oracles, including Olympia and Dodona. To add to that, she had also received the Oracle of Delphi, 'homerically' called Pytho, from Gaea herself. (Mother Earth used to own the oracle herself.)

Themis used to be 'The Voice'
of Delphi. No copyright infringement
intended here babies. I got the logo here.

From there, she became 'The Voice' who, as Theoi Project says:

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.

 (The show is such a hit here in our country; I can't help putting--and modifying-- it here. Teehee. Peace!)

So yeah, Themis did a really cool job as the oracular voice of the earth. In fact, she uttered several of the most famous prophecies involved in the sagas of the gods in Greek mythology. These included:

• the prophecy of the fall of the Titans;
• the prophecy of the son of Thetis;
• the prophecy of the liberation of Prometheus;
• the prophecy of the theft of the Golden Apples;
• the prophecy of Deucalion's stone-born men;
• the prophecy of the sons of Callirhoe (I didn't know this); and
• the prophecy of the death of the Gigantes

(Source: http://www.theoi.com/Titan/TitanisThemis.html. It's basically the same link as above. Hehe.)

Themis grew very famous because of her rather 'sensational' visions. People flocked around her oracles especially in Delphi that she decided to employ her sister Phoebe to handle some of her clients, and become her temple associate. Having prophesied the loss of her brothers, she chose to bet on the winning side. Eventually, she was promoted to become the new king Zeus' personal adviser. Themis then left Phoebe the Delphic Oracle who in turn handed it down to her grandson, Apollo.

Sitting by Zeus' throne, Themis still continued to become a goddess of foresight in Olympus.

Bringing order in the court

The Titaness Themis was more popularly known as the steadfast goddess of divine justice, law and order. The origin of this power may have been Eurynome the Creatrix. According to the myth where she created the seven planetary powers, Themis was paired with an obscure Titan named Eurymedon. Both of them were given the dominion over the planet Jupiter and the power over law.

According to Wikipedia, Themis means "divine law", those rules of conduct long established by custom, rather than human ordinance. As such, Journeying to the Goddess says that she regulated the karmic order in the cosmos and presided over matters of moral judgment (a role very similar to that of the earlier Egyptian Goddess Ma'at, based on what I've read here).

And also, NEVER EVER confuse Divine Justice with these:

(Sorry. I know that was a bad joke.)

On a more serious note, Maya del Mar on her Daykeeper Journal says that:

In later Greek mythology, transferred to Mount Olympus, she personified the social order of law and custom, a reminder that social order is ultimately dependent on the natural order of the earth. Themis is a grounded, earthly goddess who is also comfortable moving through the shifting, mantic world of dreams. She is deep wisdom familiar with both the depths of earth and the heights of sky: a guide into the soul.

Themis 2.0 - Up in Olympus

As a goddess of the old order, it is an impressive feat for Themis to survive the transition and even gain her spot among the younger and fresher goddesses of the heavens. Let's see what has become of her after the Titan War.

Themis, Hermes, Zeus, Nike,
and Athena (source)

A higher office. From the earthly oracles, Themis was promoted to become one of Zeus' staff when the top god assumed the throne of lordship. She served as his first personal counselor (Athena became the second later on) and was the one who convened and dissolved the assemblies of the gods.

(Rumor has it that Themis helped Zeus plot the Trojan War to remedy the problems on overpopulation! O.o)

What's more? She was... ssshhh... his lover. They even had children! But that was before his marriage to Hera, so yeah, no worries. Themis is in a safe place.

God Checker wittily describes what happened just before Zeus' marriage to Hera:

A peaceful separation settlement seems to have been arrived at and she and ZEUS remained good friends.

Being a wise woman herself, Themis did just the soundest decision.

A lower office. Themis as Divine Justice represented justice not only on heaven and earth, but also in the Underworld. I've read from the Goddess Guide that she sat in judgment of the recently deceased and decided whether they were sent to Tartarus or the Elysian Fields. But as Themis always takes office in Olympus, she had the Three Judges of the Underwold (Minos, Aeacus and Rhadamanthys) fill in the position for her.

Among the A-list. Themis was one of the oldest and most revered goddesses in Olympus. Her epithet Eugenes ("High Born") suggests her high status. Also, as revealed by her title Hiera (meaning "reverend"), she was one of the only few goddesses whom the prima donna queen Hera revered. Even the High Ladies of Olympus, Hestia and Demeter, call her their Lady.

A goddess in Rome. Only a few Titans successfully made it to the Classic Roman Pantheon. One of them was Themis, where she was known as JUSTITIA (hence, justice... duh). As such, she was the embodiment of the divine rightness of law; and the personification of the moral force in judicial systems. She could have logically been the world's (and beyond's) first lawyer.

The name Justitia was also used by one of Themis’ daughter, Dike, in her office as the Roman goddess of Human Justice – implying that she looked up to her mother as her role model. Not a bad choice, actually.

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Justice and order, up to this day, are of extreme importance to humanity. Without them, the world would once again plunge in chaos and confusion. This could be the reason why, unlike the other Titanides, Themis never left.

Clash Of The Titanides

I believe that everyone with the slightest knowledge on Greek mythology will at least have an idea or two about the race of beings called TITANS.

Yes. Of course. The Titans. They are ugly giants who fought with Kratos against the Olympians in God of War. In Percy Jackson and the Olympians, they are the meanies who took camp on Mount Tam and attempted to storm Olympus which was located on top of the Empire State Building. And lastly, they are the villains released by Hyperion on the Immortals.

In all of those stories (and more), the Titans were generally represented as the eternal enemies of the gods. (I've omitted some parts here as this incites some 'unfavorable' reaction from readers^^). But this notion is not entirely true. The Titans are actually just another race of gods. Some of them were allies of the Olympians; others were even benefactors of mankind. And so to the remaining Titan population, this treatment seems rather unfair and utterly racist (I repeat. They're just another race of gods. No modern implications. Promise.).

And so as the self-proclaimed divine archivist myself, I let them use this blog as a means to clear up their names, particularly the female Titans, upon the request of a concerned Titaness (whose profile is confidential, sorry).

Femme Fatales, the Titanides

The Six Principal Titanides made by me. Yes. Me.

As what I've said, not all the Titans are hideous gigantic monsters (let's admit that some of them actually are) led by their paranoid and cannibalistic king, Cronus (or Kronos, whatever). Also belonging to this race are the Titanides, or the female Titanesses (OMG. This is an extreme case of redundancy).

According to Theoi.com:

The TITANIDES were the six earth-goddess daughters of Heaven (Ouranos) and Earth (Gaia). They were the female counterparts of the Titanes, the primal gods of time, divinities of both Heaven and the Tartarean pit, the cosmic inverse of heaven.

The Titanides represented different aspects of their mother Gaia the Earth: Tethys was the nourishing waters of subterranean springs, nurse of all life; Rheia was nature's fertile mother, and lady of the wilds; Themis was earth's natural order, and prophetic voice; Phoibe was earth's oracular midpoint (Delphoi); Theia was sight, the all-seeing all-knowing earth; Mnemosyne was memory, the preservation of earthly history.

The six original Titanesses were:

1. Tethys, Queen of Ocean;
2. Theia, goddess of light;
3. Phoebe, moon goddess;
4. Themis, goddess of justice;
5. Mnemosyne, goddess of memory; and
6. Rhea, Queen of Heaven

As emanations of their mother, the Great Goddess Gaea, we can just assume that these divinities were no small deal. Before the Olympians took over, the Titanides were the A-list goddesses of the known world. These... ehem... ladies, might also have once had superhuman capabilities (discussed here). On the other hand, they served as the gentler, if not better, counterparts of their Titan husbands/brothers. To keep the scales balanced, so to say.

Titans' Next Top Model. I got the base here. Thankies!

However, Mother Earth's daughters are not the only ones who were given the title. Different sources speak of different goddesses who were also honored as Titanides. Even the names of the principal six differ from author to author. From this point of view, it seems to me that what happened was just a really ancient cycle of America's Next Top Model where everyone has his top picks.

Among the more famous contenders are:

1. Dione, oak goddess (an Oceanid, daughter of Oceanus);
2. Metis, a goddess of wisdom (another Oceanid);
3. Clymene, goddess of fame (Oceanid. Affirmative);
4. Eurynome, meadow goddess (Oceanid, and a mermaid on that note);
5. Styx, goddess of oaths (Oc-... oh no! Not an Oceanid; but she was their sister though);
6. Leto, goddess of daylight;
7. Asteria, goddess of stars (Leto's sister);
8. Selene, moon goddess;
9. Eos, dawn goddess (Selene's sister);
10. Aura, goddess of breezes; and
11. Anchiale, little known goddess of the warmth of fire.

Alas for them, the Uranid (daughters of Uranus, that is) sisters still got the top spots.

The Seven Planetary Powers

I read this random tidbit from a site I accidentally found. It's called Paleothea. If you think of yourself as a feminist and a myth geek at the same time, then this site is perfect for you. Just sayin'.

Okay, the story goes like this:

In the Pelasgian myth, there was this Creatrix goddess known as Eurynome (not to be confused with the Oceanid of the same name). She created the Seven Planetary Powers, putting a Titaness and a Titan over each. Theia and Hyperion were given the Sun and the power of illumination; Phoebe and Atlas were given the Moon and the power of enchantment; Dione and Crius were given the planet Mars and the power of growth; Metis and Coeus were given the planet Mercury and the power of wisdom; Themis and Eurymedon were given the planet Jupiter and the power of law; Tethys and Oceanus were given the planet Venus and the power of love; and Rhea and Cronus took the planet Saturn with the power of peace. (Source)

Source: click here

(Seriously. This myth makes me think of Sailor Moon and other magical girl group types of anime. Yay! Otaku Represent! XD)

From reading and rereading this myth, I've noticed TWO things: 

• It should be noted that seven, instead of six Titanesses were mentioned in this particular story; and
• Mnemosyne was replaced by either Dione or Metis in the lineup. I bet she did not let this issue just pass.

The Essence of Being Women: The Titanides' Case

Sushmita Sen once said, "Just being a woman is God's gift. The origin of a child is a mother, a woman. She shows a man what sharing, caring, and loving is all about. That is the essence of a woman."

And that answer won her the crown for a certain beauty pageant years ago. Well, it's just because it's true... as in the case of the Titan goddesses of Greek mythology.

One main reason why the Titanides became really important in myths is because of their children:

• Tethys was the mother of 3000 Oceanides and All the river gods (she's one busy wife!);
• Theia was the mother of Helios, Selene and Eos (mother of the Winds);
• Phoebe was the mother of Leto and Asteria, who were the mothers of the twins Apollo and Artemis and Hecate respectively;
• Themis was the mother of the Seasons and the Fates;
• Mnemosyne was the mother of the Muses;
• Rhea was the mother of the original Olympians Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Hestia, Demeter and Hera;
• Dione was the rumored mother of Aphrodite (no one has confirmed this yet, although we're open to hear Dione's side);
• Metis was the supposed 'mother' of Athena (I'll have to explain this in the future);
• Clymene was the mother of Atlas and Prometheus and the ancestress of mankind;
• Eurynome (the Oceanid, not the Creatrix) was the mother of the Graces;
• Styx was the mother of Victory, Force, Violence and Zeal;
• Anchiale was the mother of the Dactyls.

Their children became the main characters of most of the mythical stories that we know today, and were figures of mass interest. And so, the Titanides were ever renowned in myths as the Mothers of the Gods. You may want to visit a rather persuasive discussion about these 'Mothers' here.

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For the next few days, I will be putting individual entries of the abovementioned Titanides. I just thought that you might be interested in each of these goddesses' personal issues. Stay tuned.