Nomos

NOMOS is ‘law’. Also this ancient Greek word has the meanings of ‘custom’ and ‘rule’.

In pre-Christian Greece, there are intense discussions revolving around the contrast between <physis> (nature) and <nomos> (law). Still the opposition between what is natural and what is human is one of the central issues of political, social and philosophical debates.

Among the many points of disputation, stands the question if justice is only a set of rules strictly of human origin. Some thinkers argue that the law does have (or should have) objective basis in nature. Therefore, it cannot be entirely and only a human invention. The problem arises about the possibility of not obeying some laws. For instance, one could disregard a law if and when it conflicts with natural needs, desires and behaviours.

Sokratiko Logo

<Nomos> is ‘law’. Nonetheless, in the ancient Greek religion <nomos> is the daemon of laws, statutes and ordinances. So, the word would indicate more the <logos> of the law instead of the law itself. We refer here to the spirit, the motives, the soul of the law. In other words, we are talking about the implicit force and essence inspiring a law.

Another use of the term <nomos> is as the idea of the making of human law in Ancient Greece. We can imagine that producing law was a complex operation. According to the ancient mythological view, the wife of <Nomos> is Eusebia (Piety), and their daughter is Dike (Justice). The notion is quite clear about justice deriving from the combination of spirituality (piety) and law (<nomos>).