Chapter 190: The Fall of Themis (8k a day)
A few days later, on an isolated island.
The stars were hanging in the sky, the night was as blue as water, Themis leaned back in her chair, flipping through the dozens of parchment scrolls in her hand titled "Aesopian Fables".
The stories in it are short and concise, with appropriate metaphors, vivid images, and humorous language. If you read them carefully, each one contains philosophical implications, and will be of great value to people of different ages and in different moods.
Soon, Themis finished reading the first dozen or so fables, and her eyes were immediately attracted by an interesting story in one of them.
The general content is that the father killed his daughter for sacrifice, the mother held a grudge and teamed up with her lover to kill the father, and the son killed his mother in revenge.
The result of the arbitration was that the son should be acquitted.
This kind of just revenge should be forgiven.
“Is this kind of punishment too absurd?”
After pondering for a moment, Themis raised her head, looked at the figure beside her, frowned and shook her head.
As the author, Lorne considerately poured a glass of iced honey water for the goddess of justice and explained with a smile.
"In the eyes of her son, his mother is just the murderer of his father and an enemy. Putting aside the concept of mother, shouldn't revenge for his father be a righteous act?"
Themis thought for a moment and gave a solemn rebuttal.
"If the son is innocent, then what is the fault of the mother who avenges her daughter? There is no need to whitewash her own parricide. If the sins of both parties cancel each other out, he has only killed an innocent woman."
Lorne paused for a moment to think, then quoted the story in response.
"According to the judge, the father is the true sower and the mother is only the vessel for conception. The father is more important than the mother. The justice of the son avenging his father is more noble than the evil act of the mother venting her personal grudges and should be forgiven."
The goddess of justice slid her fingertips across the parchment scroll, her face calm and solemn.
"In raising children, the father provides the seeds and the mother provides the warm house. These successors have the blood of both parties. The maternal instinct of breeding and protecting children is the foundation of the birth of the world. So, shouldn't the mother's behavior of upholding justice for her daughter be more noble?"
Then, Themis seemed to have thought of something, and the corners of her lips curled up slightly.
"Moreover, if we judge from the perspective of the justice of the status of parents... a child can be without a father, but not without a mother. Even Uranus, the father of the world, was bred by Gaia, the mother of the earth. Doesn't this mean that the mother created the father? Isn't it even more reasonable for the mother to avenge her daughter?"
After hearing this theory, Loen couldn't help but be convinced, and a subtle look flashed in the depths of his eyes.
In fact, this interesting case is based on the play "Orestes" adapted from a mythological story by the ancient Greek writer Aeschylus.
In the future famous Trojan War, the army led by the ancient Greek commander King Agamemnon encountered storms. In order to calm the storms brought by the sea god, the father sacrificed his daughter Iphigenia to the sea god Poseidon (originally it was Artemis, but of course the sea god was chosen to take the blame).
Agamemnon's wife Clytemnestra committed adultery in order to avenge her daughter, and assassinated Agamemnon at home when Agamemnon returned triumphantly 10 years later. Her lover took control of the government.
Agamemnon's youngest son, Orestes, was only 12 years old at the time. He fled to another place and vowed to avenge his father when he grew up. Many years later, Orestes returned to his hometown and killed his mother and her lover with his sister Electra.
After taking revenge but being convicted of matricide, Orestes went mad and was repeatedly harassed by the three Furies. He could not find peace and had to flee everywhere.
Finally, Apollo guided him to Athens to seek fair judgment from Athena, the goddess of wisdom.
Apollo, who defends Orestes, claims that the father is the true sower and that a person can have only a father but no mother, just as Athena was born from Zeus' head.
In the end, Athena, who was forced to take sides, cast a crucial vote, and Orestes, who had murdered his mother, was declared not guilty and returned to Mycenae to ascend the throne.
If the goddess of justice also got involved and threw the argument that Gaia, the mother earth, created Uranus, the father sky, unisexually in Apollo's face, the expression of the sun god must have been very interesting.
After all, the original Heavenly Father was created by the mother. Shouldn't it be more commendable for the mother to avenge her daughter and kill the ruthless father?
Don't forget that the Heavenly Father was castrated by his son Kronos at the instruction of Gaia.
If Apollo dared to mention again that the father's status was higher than the mother's and that revenge for his father was more just, he would be slapping the face of the old Greek grandmother.
Of course, Loen can also use this theory on his own.
After all, there was a feud between him and Zeus over the murder of his mother.
Since Themis, the goddess of "justice", believes that the mother's status is higher than that of the father, then isn't it only natural to avenge the mother and kill the old man from Olympus?
Thinking of this, Luo En narrowed his eyes and asked with ill intention.
"So in your opinion, a son who kills his mother for his father should be sentenced to death?"
Themis, the goddess of justice, still shook her head, pondered for a moment, and then gave an answer.
"If I had to go to trial, I would choose exile rather than the death penalty."
"Oh? Why? This is a felony of matricide."
There was a hint of surprise in Luo En's eyes, and he curiously asked the reason.
Themis' five fingers, as white as scallion roots, gently stroked the parchment scroll, exuding a quiet temperament, and pursed her lips in deep thought.
"It is understandable that the mother avenged her daughter. However, she pushed her lover to the throne. The prince, who was only twelve years old at the time, would naturally become a thorn in the eyes of the rebels. The reason for revenge for the father is indeed untenable.
But when one's life is threatened, the extreme actions taken to protect oneself should be forgiven and understood by justice."
The goddess of justice paused, frowned slightly, and spoke in a gentle and calm tone.
"However, the prince was threatened when he was a child, but he eventually escaped safely. When he grew up, he came to seek revenge and killed his mother and her lover.
This has somewhat exceeded the time limit and limit of self-protection, so although it is reasonable to sympathize with him, it is not enough to completely exonerate him.
However, before he was tried, he was cursed and entangled by the goddess of vengeance and had been insane for several years, so his sentence should be appropriately reduced.
Taking all the above factors into consideration, depriving him of his most precious right to inherit the throne, except for his life, and exiling him forever is the most appropriate punishment I can think of."
After the trial, Themiston felt very happy.
However, the faint gaze from the opposite side made the goddess of justice slightly stunned, and she subconsciously looked at the parchment scroll in her hand a few more times.
"What's wrong? Did I make the wrong judgment?"
Loen came back to his senses, shaking his head like a rattle, and was sincerely amazed.
"No, no! That's right! That's absolutely right! Your understanding and intuition of legal arbitration is beyond my imagination!"
These compliments are genuine and without a trace of exaggeration.
Because, in the ancient Greek gods, the goddess of justice introduced concepts such as "legitimate defense" and "excessive defense" into the case based on her own feelings and experience, and the judgment was logically self-consistent, and the sentencing result was convincing.
Even in the future legal society with a more complete judicial system, there probably won't be many people who can achieve this level.
Moreover, this act of matricide, which was attributed to excessive self-defense, coupled with a history of mental illness, was a killer.
The most that the Mycenaean prince would suffer is the deprivation of his political rights for life and a life sentence. He might even be allowed medical parole and stay in a mental hospital, living in a single room, isolated from the world.
Is this not tantamount to exile and abrogation of inheritance rights?
In the barbaric Age of Gods, we can actually see judgments similar to those of modern courts.
What else can I say?
Even though this result did not completely match his own malicious intentions, Loen had already crazily counted a series of "66666" for Themis in his heart.
By the way, he couldn't help but deeply despise Astraea, another goddess of justice who was guarding outside the door.
Astraea had also seen the same case, but the verdict she gave was - the prince could be released, but Poseidon had to be beaten up first.
Because this is the culprit.
Well, this is indeed in line with Astraea's usual style.
What else could Luo En say? He could only choose to respect and bless silently in his heart.
"Public law: First, laws are given by the gods and apply universally. No special laws can be made for the benefit of any individual."
"Public Law No. 2: No intelligent individual may be lynched without trial."
"Public Law No. 3: Under the witness of Mother Goddess Gaia, men and women establish a family relationship under the law through marriage. Both parties shall not harm each other without reason, shall respect and support each other, and glory and suffering, property and hardship, responsibilities and obligations shall be shared by both..."
The content on the last page of parchment came to an abrupt end. Themis suddenly felt anxious and raised her head abruptly, opening her mouth to ask anxiously.
"What's next?"
“No more…”
Lorne spread his hands and answered sincerely.
Themis couldn't help but get angry and looked straight at the young god in front of her.
“Why not write it down?”
"Uh, this is a collection of fables. The last one was accidentally inserted..."
Lorne blinked, looking innocent.
Themis realized her own gaffe, and her breathing stagnated. She put down the parchment scroll in her hand angrily and sighed helplessly.
"These few fables are just a pastime after dinner. Even if there are hundreds or thousands of them, in my opinion, they are not as valuable as these last few words..."
Lorne nodded and answered honestly.
"Well, I think so too. There are two things that the more deeply and persistently I think about them, the more the wonder and awe they evoke in my soul will grow day by day. These are the starry sky above my head and the moral law in my heart."
Hearing this, Themis couldn't help but look at the young god beside her in surprise, with a look of deep approval on her face.
"In the Age of Gods, which pursues power, there are people who respect the law. How rare..."
"Of course. He is the scribe of Crete and the successor of King Minos, the chief of the three judges of the underworld. Even King Minos praised his achievements in the field of justice."
Accompanied by a lazy voice, Hecate walked out from the inner hall with a subtle smile on her face.
Thetis, who had just been able to get out of bed and walk, followed her, holding honey water and cakes in her hands, ready to express her gratitude to Themis in public.
Seeing the sea goddess' face gradually becoming rosy, Loen's heart sank.
There is not much time left here, hurry up!
"You are too kind. It's all thanks to King Minos." Loen first smiled at Hecate who had praised him, then turned to Themis with a regretful and embarrassed expression, "In fact, in order to repay that adult's kindness, I wanted to complete a written code of law so that this chaotic world would have laws to follow and justice could be upheld..."
"A written code?"
When Themis heard this, an idea suddenly came to her mind, as if she had grasped something of vital importance, and she looked straight at the young god.
Under the gaze of the goddess of justice, Loen smiled shyly and explained casually.
"Well, before, the city-states had no written laws, only traditional customs. The nobles with divine blood used their power to arbitrarily interpret and distort the law, which is not fair. Therefore, I want to write some more practical laws based on experience, engrave them on stone walls or copper plates, and announce them to the public. In this way, any judgment will have a traceable path, and it will not be entirely based on the personal likes and dislikes of judges or nobles, resulting in countless unjust, false and wrong cases, and the abuse of power for personal gain will be effectively curbed."
“Good idea!”
Themis was once again amazed at the creative ideas of the young god in front of her, and her words were full of praise.
However, Loen immediately showed an embarrassed expression.
"However, I am lacking in experience and ability, and I have seen too few precedents. I want to complete the legal code by myself, but I am unable to do so..."
Then he paused, picked up the last piece of parchment, pointed to the third item on it, and said embarrassedly.
"To be honest, regarding the content of marriage law, I still rely on your wisdom..."
Themis was silent for a moment, then looked at the young god in front of her. There was a hint of scrutiny in her eyes and her attitude became a little colder.
"So, you want me to help you?"
Sure enough, this first-generation goddess of justice was very perceptive and not as easily fooled as her disciple.
However, just like the time in the Temple of Memory, he is now adopting an open and aboveboard strategy, and is not afraid that the other party will not take the bait.
Facing Themis's scrutiny, Lorne nodded calmly.
"To be honest, although Crete was destroyed, the Minoan civilization was not cut off. Some of them moved to Athens and established the Academy of Athens. These survivors have always hoped to pass on the Minoan rule of law civilization. Unfortunately, the judicial aspects are too fragmented. I want to help, but I am powerless.
So, I have been traveling around the Greek states recently, hoping to find like-minded partners to work together to complete a code of law with universal significance and practice justice.
If you can get involved, I believe this code will definitely bring more fairness and justice to the world!"
However, Themis shook her head with a gloomy look.
"What good is it if it is enacted? Laws without binding force cannot be truly implemented and will ultimately be nothing more than empty words."
After saying this, the goddess of justice put down the parchment in her hand, stood up somewhat listlessly, and walked into the house without saying a word.
Looking at the lonely figure and the parchment with three lines of law written on it that was taken away from the table, Loen's eyes flickered faintly.
No matter how disappointed you are, it’s fine as long as your heart is not dead.
(End of this chapter)
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