|
 秋分，这个黑夜与白天时间开始相同的日子，给我们送来了它的象征者--公平与和谐的天秤座。就像她的星座符号“秤子”一样，她在衡量公平与规范时，也总在这两边摇摆不停...
The scales have also been associated with Themis, Goddess of Divine Justice and Law. Themis was one of the original Titans and is counted among the oldest and most revered of the Greek Goddesses. Daughter of Gaia, the Earth Goddess, Themis (courtesy of a union with Zeus) was mother of the Seasons, the Hours and, according to some sources, theThree Fates, who determined the destiny of all mortals and souls. She was once consulted at Delphi as the bestower of oracles. Themis was considered prophecy incarnate...her oracles derived from a sense of order and connections to nature. On Mount Olympus, she personified the social order of law and customs...a reminder that social order is ultimately dependent upon the natural order of the Earth. She is commonly portrayed in art as a woman holding a pair of scales in one hand, a sword in the other and wearing a blindfold.
The origin of a Justice Goddess goes back to antiquity and the Ancient Egyptians referred to her as Maat, Eye of the Universe and Goddess of Cosmic Order. Cherished daughter and confidante of Ra, Maat is also the wife of Thoth. She is often depicted carrying a sword and wearing an ostrich feather in her hair, symbolic of truth and justice, she was connected to the warmth ofthe Sun and the flame that destroys. The epitome of balance, the other Egyptian deities feasted upon Maat and her wisdom. The roots of the term "magistrate" derive from Maat because she assisted in the judgment of the dead.
In Christian iconography, Saint Michael frequently holds a pair of scales and the Scales of the Last Judgment are also alluded to in the Koran. In Tibet, the pans of the scales used to weigh an individual's good and bad deeds are loaded with white and black pebbles respectively while in Persia, the Angel Rashnu stood beside Mithras and weighed souls at the Bridge of Fate. Yet another symbolic connection is that of the scales to the Greek God, Cronus, who was once both judge and executioner, measuring out human life on his scales, whether they balanced or not, between years and seasons...days and nights. The image of scales is often be found on Christian graves.
The "libra" is a traditional unit of weight in Italian, Spanish and Portuguese speaking countries. The libra was the Roman unit of weight used to balance a pair of scales. This was later abbreviated to "lb.," the same as the abbreviation used in modern times for a "pound." The Roman libra contained 12 "unciae," which weighed one-twelfth of a libra. The uncia later developed into the English "ounce."
背景故事：
在远古时代，人类与神都同样居住在地上，一起过着和平快乐的日子，可是人类愈来愈聪明，不但学会了建房子、铺道路，还学会勾心斗角、欺骗等等不好的恶习，搞得许多神仙都受不了，纷纷离开人类，回到天上居住。 但是在众神之中，有一位代表正义的女神，并未对人性感到灰心，依然与人类一同住在一起。不过人类愈来愈变本加厉，开始有了战争、彼此残杀的事件发生。最后连正义女神都无法忍受，也毅然决然的搬回天上居住，但这并不表示她对人类已经彻底绝望，她依然认为人类有一天会觉悟，会回到过去善良纯真的本性。
回到天上的正义女神，在某一天与海神不期而遇，海神因为嘲笑她对人类遇蠢的信任，两人随即发生了一场激辩。辩论当中正义女神认为海神侮辱了她，必须向他道歉，海神不这么认为。说是两人僵持不下，一状告到宙斯那里。 这种情形让宙斯到很为难，因为正义女神是自己的女儿，而海神又是自己的弟弟，偏向哪能一方都不行。正当宙斯为此感到很头大时，王后适时地提出了一个建议，要海神与正义女神比赛，谁输了谁就向对方道歉。 比赛的地点就设在天庭的广场中，由海神先开始。海神用他的棒子朝墙上一挥，裂缝中就马上流出了非常美的水。随后正义女神则变了一棵树，这棵树有着红褐色的树干，苍翠的绿叶以及金色的橄榄，最重要的是，任何人看了这棵树都感到爱与和平。比赛结束，海神心服口服的认输。宙斯为了纪念这样的结果，就把随身携带的秤，往天上一抛，成为现今的天秤座。 |
