Fig 6.3 – Goddess Themis
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Dorothea Dix became the modern Greek goddess Themis, who symbolized justice as a divine law that transcended human law. In Greek, Themis, tithemi, means “to put into place divine law.” Her gift from the Greek gods was to provide social order and justice to humanity. Dix spoke to a moral justice and a moral responsibility calling upon political leaders to treat individuals with mental illness with not only respect but with justice, acknowledging their political rights to be treated as valued human beings.