Mythography | The Greek Goddess Dike in Myth and Art

home | greek | gods | free spirits | Dike

Dike at a Glance

name | Dike (Dikh)

role | goddess of justice

Dike in Greek Mythology

The Greek goddess Dike was the personification of justice. Dike is briefly mentioned in Hesiod's Theogony (this is a poem that describes the birth of the gods and goddesses). In the Theogony, Dike - or Justice - is identified as the daughter of Zeus and Themis:

"His second wife was radiant Themis; she bore the Seasons,
Lawfulness and Justice and blooming Peace,
who watch over the works of mortal men,
and also the Fates, to whom wise Zeus allotted high honors."
(Hesiod, Theogony, 901-4)

And although the goddess of justice was in many respects more important in literature than religion, she still played a significant role in the lives of the ancient Greeks. It is suggested in some sources that Dike was instrumental in punishing wrong doers and rewarding those who did good deeds.

Dike's Roman counterpart was named Iustitia.

Search Mythography
For best results, use lower case queries in Altavista's syntax... search help!

Do you have a specific question about Greek mythology? Then try the Mythography forum!

Who's Who in Classical Mythology

This book is a great source for information about Greek and Roman mythology! Organized alphabetically, this who's who features information about over 1200 of the most intriguing characters from Classical myth and legend.

Copyright © 1997-2008 Loggia.com. All rights reserved.
No part of this website, including text and images, may be reproduced or copied in any form
or by any means without the express prior written permission of Loggia.com.