Themis
Titaness of divine order, daughter of Earth and Heaven, Zeus's second wife and mother of the Horae and the Moirai; the goddess who summons the gods' assembly in Homer, holds the Delphic oracle before Apollo in Apollodorus, feeds the newborn Apollo in the Hymn, and in Aeschylus is Prometheus's mother, "one form" with Earth.
Why this wins its question: Binds each of Themis's roles — wife, convener, oracle, nurse, mother of Prometheus — to the text that gives it, and flags the Hesiod–Aeschylus disagreement about Prometheus's mother.
Key takeaways
- Zeus's second consort and mother of the Horae and the Fates (Theog. 901–906).
- In Homer she is the goddess who convenes the assembly of the gods (Il. 20.4).
- Delphi was hers before Apollo, according to Apollodorus (1.4.1).
- Aeschylus's Prometheus calls her mother and identifies her with Earth; Hesiod gives him Clymene instead.
Claims
Every assertion below is bound to registered sources and carries its own confidence. Weight them; do not treat the page as uniformly authoritative.
Themis is a Titan daughter of Earth and Heaven, "Themis and Mnemosyne" in Hesiod's list (Theog. 135), and "revered Themis" among the gods the Muses praise (Theog. 16); Apollodorus counts her among the Titanides (Apollod. 1.1.3).
She is Zeus's second wife, after Metis: "he married bright Themis who bore the Horae (Hours), and Eunomia (Order), Dikë (Justice), and blooming Eirene (Peace) … and the Moerae (Fates) to whom wise Zeus gave the greatest honor, Clotho, and Lachesis, and Atropos" (Theog. 901–906); Apollodorus gives the same Seasons and Fates (Apollod. 1.3.1).
In the Iliad she keeps the house of the gods: when Hera arrives distraught, Themis "ran first to meet her" with a cup (Il. 15.87–91), and at the start of Book 20 "Zeus bade Themis summon the gods to the place of gathering" (Il. 20.4).
At Apollo's birth on Delos she is among the goddesses present, and "Leto did not give Apollo … her breast; but Themis duly poured nectar and ambrosia with her divine hands" (HH3 93–95, 123–125).
Apollodorus says that when Apollo came to Delphi, "Themis at that time used to deliver oracles" there, and Apollo took the oracle after killing Python (Apollod. 1.4.1).
Aeschylus makes her Prometheus's mother: Hephaestus addresses him as "son of Themis who counsels straight" (PV 18), and Prometheus speaks of "my mother Themis, or Earth (though one form, she had many names)" (PV 209–210) and of "my mother, Titan Themis" (PV 870–874). Hesiod gives Prometheus a different mother, the Oceanid Clymene (Theog. 507–511).
Questions answered
- Who are the children of Themis?
- She is Zeus's second wife, after Metis: "he married bright Themis who bore the Horae (Hours), and Eunomia (Order), Dikë (Justice), and blooming Eirene (Peace) … and the Moerae (Fates) to whom wise Zeus gave the greatest honor, Clotho, and Lachesis, and Atropos" (Theog. 901–906); Apollodorus gives the same Seasons and Fates (Apollod. 1.3.1). source
- Was Themis a wife of Zeus?
- She is Zeus's second wife, after Metis: "he married bright Themis who bore the Horae (Hours), and Eunomia (Order), Dikë (Justice), and blooming Eirene (Peace) … and the Moerae (Fates) to whom wise Zeus gave the greatest honor, Clotho, and Lachesis, and Atropos" (Theog. 901–906); Apollodorus gives the same Seasons and Fates (Apollod. 1.3.1). source
- What does Themis do in the Iliad?
- In the Iliad she keeps the house of the gods: when Hera arrives distraught, Themis "ran first to meet her" with a cup (Il. 15.87–91), and at the start of Book 20 "Zeus bade Themis summon the gods to the place of gathering" (Il. 20.4). source
- Did Themis hold the oracle at Delphi before Apollo?
- Apollodorus says that when Apollo came to Delphi, "Themis at that time used to deliver oracles" there, and Apollo took the oracle after killing Python (Apollod. 1.4.1). source
- Is Themis the mother of Prometheus?
- Aeschylus makes her Prometheus's mother: Hephaestus addresses him as "son of Themis who counsels straight" (PV 18), and Prometheus speaks of "my mother Themis, or Earth (though one form, she had many names)" (PV 209–210) and of "my mother, Titan Themis" (PV 870–874). Hesiod gives Prometheus a different mother, the Oceanid Clymene (Theog. 507–511). source