The origin of Lady Justice was
Justitia (or
Iustitia), the goddess of
Justice within
Roman mythology. Justitia was introduced by emperor
Augustus, and was thus not a very old deity in the
Roman pantheon. Justice was one of the virtues celebrated by emperor
Augustus in his , and a temple of Justitia was established in Rome by emperor
Tiberius. who represented the ideals of truth, fairness, honesty and justice. With a good heart, the deceased would enter the afterlife; otherwise, they would be fed to
Ammit, a crocodile-headed monster. The symbol of the scales of justice was later adopted by the Greeks and then the Romans. Since then, "in the global system of visual symbols, it is a rare example of a symbol that completely lacks ambiguity." Lady Justice is often depicted with a set of scales, typically suspended from one hand, upon which she balances the relative substance and value (i.e. the 'weight') of the available evidence and arguments on both sides of any bilateral dispute. The scales can therefore 'tip in favour' of either side, and justice, in terms of the metaphor, can be enacted upon seeing the result. The
Greek goddess Dike is depicted holding a set of scales:
Blindfold Since the 16th century, Lady Justice has often been depicted wearing a blindfold. The blindfold was originally a satirical addition intended to show Justice as blind to the injustice carried on before her, but it has been reinterpreted over time and is now understood to represent
impartiality, the ideal that justice should be applied without regard to wealth, power, or other status. The earliest Roman coins depicted Justitia with the sword in one hand and the scale in the other, but with her eyes uncovered. Justitia was only commonly represented as "blind" since the middle of the 16th century. The first known representation of blind Justice is
Hans Gieng's 1543 statue on the
Gerechtigkeitsbrunnen (Fountain of Justice) in
Bern. Instead of using the
Janus approach, many sculptures simply leave out the blindfold altogether. For example, atop the
Old Bailey courthouse in
London, a statue of Lady Justice stands without a blindfold; the courthouse brochures explain that this is because Lady Justice was originally not blindfolded, and because her "maidenly form" is supposed to guarantee her impartiality which renders the blindfold redundant. Another variation is to depict a blindfolded Lady Justice as a human scale, weighing competing claims in each hand. An example of this can be seen at the Shelby County Courthouse in
Memphis, Tennessee.
Sword The sword represented authority in ancient times, and conveys the idea that justice can be swift and final.
No blindfold and no sword In October 2024, the
Supreme Court of India announced and inaugurated the
Nyay Devi, a new template for statues of Lady Justice for use in India. Henceforth, the blindfold will not be used and the sword is replaced by a book representing the constitution. Announcing the change, the
Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud declared that "the law is not blind, it sees everyone equally". The removal of sword also symbolizes India's shift to new criminal laws focusing on Nyay (justice) rather than punishments or retributions.
Toga The
Greco-Roman garment symbolizes the status of the philosophical attitude that embodies justice. that may be used to represent the scales of justice. ==In art==