Justice Symbolism
By Richard Eadie
Themis, symbol of justice, is one of the most enduring images in human history. She stands in her full length gown, holding scales with her left hand and sword with her right, and, as we now know her, blindfolded.
In Hesiod’s Theogony, Themis was goddess of wisdom and good counsel, and she interpreted the gods’ will. She was a Titan, daughter of Gaia and Ouranos, and mother of Dike, the goddess of human justice.
The Roman equivalent of Themis was known as Justicia. Themis’ endurance as a symbol of justice during centuries when there were few books, or people able to read, is a powerful statement of the importance of law and justice in every society, in all ages.
The dominant features of Themis as we see her today are the sword, the scales and the blindfold. Scales have been associated with judgment as far back as Maat, the ancient Egyptian goddess. The sword, probably a later addition, has consistently represented protection of the innocent, and power to enforce judgments. With the blindfold, however, it is a different story.
The blindfold first appears in the late 15th century, not as a symbol of impartiality, as it is understood today, but to suggest that the courts were blind to the abuse, cruelty and injustice imposed in the name of justice.
In the late 15th century Sebastian Brant’s The Ship of Fools includes a woodcut, attributed to Albrecht DŸrer, that shows a clown tying a blindfold on Justice. This is one of the follies of man. A woodcut from Bambergensis (ca., 1500) shows a group of judges, all wearing jester’s hats and blindfolds, with the inscription “Out of bad habit all that these blind fools do is give sentences contrary to what is right.”
The use of this negative image of the blindfold continues through Daumier’s 1834 lithograph which shows a clown pointing to justice blindfolded. It is titled, “Lower the curtain, the farce is played.” In contrast, a frame for a painting of a group of judges, painted by the 17th Century Dutch artist Gerard Ter Borch, contains top and center the “Eye of Justice” with no blindfold.
By the 18th century, however, when there was a movement towards a more independent judiciary, the blindfold began to be take on more positive associations. Justice was held to be blind to corrupt influence, to judge on facts, and to ignore any personal influence by the individuals before the court. It has been often stated, justice administered, “without fear or favor.”
Today, most people identify the blindfold on Themis/Justicia with the principle of impartiality and fairness. There still exist a few modern statues that dispense with the blindfold, perhaps the most well-known being the early 20th century statue atop the Old Bailey in London. There is a courthouse in Nevada, and one in North Carolina, that present the ancient Titan without the blindfold, but these examples are clearly the minority.
An interesting recent statue of Themis/Justicia can be found at the federal courthouse in Concord N.H. This statue has her tying the knot on the blindfold herself-symbolizing that Justice voluntarily takes on the mantle of impartiality.
The iconography associated with Justice has varied over time--lictor’s rods for authority, dogs as friends, snakes as enemies, absence of hands that might reach out for bribes, cranes (the bird) as a symbol of vigilance, ostrich feathers (which are equal on each side of the wing, for fairness), books of law and skulls representing the mortality of man and the immortality of justice.
It is the blindfold, however, that is an uniquely ambiguous symbol. First it was meant as satire, only later converted to a positive image. It is a symbol that continues to be debated to this day.
Richard Eadie is Presiding Judge of King County Superior Court. A version of this essay was published in the Armchair Classicist, a publication of the Northwest Classics Society and is reprinted with permission.
