Why Daughters of Themis?

The goddess Themis was one of the first generation of Greek ‘Titans’ (Τiτᾶνες). According to the Greek Mythology and Theogony, the ‘Titans’ were the children of the first primordial deities of Gaia (Γαῖα – the personification of Earth) and Uranus (Οὐρανός – the personification of the Sky or Heaven), and the ancestors of the Olympian Greek deities.

The goddess Themis was the second wife of Zeus and the representative of divine legality and justice which applies to every human circumstance. She was responsible to maintain and scrutinize the rights in human relations, between man and woman, the basis of the properly ordered family and society. She was also the protector of all institutions and especially of hospitality and of justice, punishing anyone for their infringement. As a goddess she was characterised by her wisdom and honesty and she had also the ability to foresee and provide prophecies. This is why she was the first master of the Oracle of Delphi. The scale on her left hand (depicted in our logo) represents justice. The chain and sword on her right hand (depicted in our logo) symbolize the strict application of justice. Etymologically, her name originates from the Greek verb ‘τίθημι’ which means ‘I am established, placed, or permanently settled’.

The Daughters of Themis were various and plenty, representing Themis as protector of the natural and moral order.

The ‘Horae’ (the Hours – Ὧραι) were the supreme deities of society and responsible for supervising the actions of human beings. These were Eunomia, Dikē, and Eirene. They were also often associated and addressed as Thallo, Auxo, and Carpo, representing the conditions required for agricultural and societal prosperity. Eunomia (Εὐνομία) was the protector of law and legislation. In the Greek language her name can be translated as good order, governance according to good laws and good pasture. Dikē (Δίκη) was the protector of fair trial, responsible to maintain the spirit of moral order and to promote fair judgement on the basis of customs and socially enforced norms and/or conventional rules; Dikē was responsible for punishment of those infringing the law; Dikē was also associated with Astraea (Ἀστραῖα), the protector of innocence and purity. Eirene (Εἰρήνη) was the personification of peace and spring.

The ‘Moirai’ (Fates – Μοῖραι) were also Daughters of Themis who controlled the destiny and maintenance of humanity. They were commissioned by Zeus to distribute goods and prosperity to people’s lives. These were Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos. Clotho (Κλωθώ) span the thread of life. Lachesis (Λάχεσις) represented the future and Atropos (Ἄτροπος) the past, the inevitable, the rigorous and dogmatic in the life of human beings.

Finally, Aidos (Αἰδώς) was also a Daughter of Themis representing modesty and restrain from wrongful and unlawful actions.

We can envisage that the symbolic reference to Themis and to her different daughters represents the values of our research network which are wisdom, prosperity, honesty, objectivity, justice, modesty, fairness, peace and sustainability as well as the various disciplines of woman business scholars that this network represents (including law, economics, management and administration, political science, sociology and natural sciences). It also reflects the common areas of our interests, with many of the Daughters of Themis working on aspects of ensuring the contribution of business to meeting the grand challenge of sustainability: securing the social foundation for people everywhere now and in the future, while staying within planetary boundaries.

Published June 1, 2017 9:14 AM - Last modified Dec. 12, 2022 4:05 PM