insignia of independence – martin sunnqvist 369 made permanent in 1818 – the royal crown surmounted the shield with the three coronets surrounding it. The most interesting change in 1818 was, however, the change in the position of the scales from being unbalanced to being balanced. This may be an effect of the fact that the type of the shield used in 1818 was different from that used in 1614 – the new shield gave better space for a pair of scales in balance. On the other hand, the type of shield could more reasonably be chosen to suit the choice of position of the scales. I will argue that the change in the position of the scales probably indicates a significant iconographical shift. I will first discuss what the various meanings of the positions of the scales are, and then whether the person making the decision about the new design could reasonably be assumed to have attached this sense to the alteration. This discussion requires some information about the iconographical history of Justitia and of Aequitas. This topic has recently been discussed exhaustively.1094 The pair of scales has an iconographical history in ancient Greece and ancient Egypt. In Egypt, the dead had to answer for how they had lived their lives. As a symbol of this, the pair of scales was used: the heart of the dead was weighed against a feather, the symbol of truth. In Greece, the interpretation of the pair of scales changed to symbolize fortune, sometimes with the scales unbalanced. In ancient Rome, Aequitas had a pair of scales and a staff or a cornucopia as symbols. The pair of scales of Aequitas was always in balance, symbolizing justice as equality between performances according to a contract or as equal distribution of goods. Thus the pair of scales of Aequitas did not have anything to do with the weighing of souls before a god. On the other hand, Justitia, with a staff and a sacrifice bowl as symbols, was the personification of justice as a virtue and as a quality of a ruler. This type of justice was related more tosuum cuique than to the equality of performances.1095 In the second and third centuries, Nemesis was symbolized by the pair of scales; not the scales of Aequitas but of the weighing of souls before a god. In the next step, these scales were transferred to Justitia, coming to symbolize the virtues of the judge and the virtues of God at the last judge1094 See especially Kissel, Otto Rudolf 1997; Bautz, Michaela 1999; Ostwaldt, Lars 2009; Resnik, Judith and Curtis, Dennis 2011. In the following, the discussion is primarily from Ostwaldt, Lars 2009, supplemented by the other and some additional literature. 1095 Ostwaldt, Lars 2009 pp. 27-78. See also Resnik, Judith and Curtis, Dennis 2011 pp. 12 and 18-22.
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