Eski Yunan Düşüncesinde Adaletin Soy Kütüğü: Homeros, Hesiodos ve Solon

Yıl 2025, Sayı: 63, 1 - 22, 07.01.2026

Erdoğan Önen

https://doi.org/10.26650/arcp.1663948

https://izlik.org/JA52EG79NK

Öz

Felsefedeki diğer pek çok kavram gibi adalet kavramının da bir tarihi bulunmaktadır. Eski Yunan düşüncesi bağlamında adalet kavramının kökleri Epik ve Arkaik Yunan şairlerine dek uzanmaktadır. Homeros, Hesiodos ve Solon, söz konusu şairlerden en eskileri ve etkililerindendir. Elinizdeki makalenin amacı, adı geçen ozanlar üzerinden adaletin soy kütüğünü çıkartmaya başlamaktır. Bu amaçla çalışmada, literatür ve çevirilerde genellikle adalet kavramıyla ilişkilendirilen “themis” ve “dikē” sözcüklerinin kullanımları irdelenmiştir. Literatür ve çevirilerdeki temel sorun, ilgili sözcüklerin belirli bir tarihsel uğrakta kazandıkları anlamların, sözü edilen uğraktan önceki kullanımlara yüklenmesidir. Bu açıdan makalenin birinci savı; Homeros, Hesiodos ve Solon’da “themis” ile “dikē”nin “adalet” ve adaletle ilgili “hak,” “hukuk,” “yasa” gibi anlamlara gelmemesidir. İkinci sav, “themis” arka planında “dikē”nin Homeros’tan Solon’a dek geçirdiği değişimin, daha sonra doğacak olan adalet kavramına giden yolu açmasıdır. İleri sürülen bu iki sav, “themis” ve “dikē”nin tek bir özsel anlamdan çok birbirine bir şekilde benzeyen çeşitli kullanım8 larının bulunduğunun ve bu kullanımların zaman içinde dönüşüme uğradığının gösterilmesiyle temellendirilmiştir. Söz konusu türden bir gerekçelendirme çabasına uygun olarak, köken üzerine baştan tümel bir önerme sunan eti8 molojik yöntemden değil, her bir bağlama ait tikel önermelerden hareket eden semantik yöntemden yararlanılmıştır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Homeros , Hesiodos , Solon , Themis , Dike , Adalet

Genealogy of Justice in Ancient Greek Thought: Homer, Hesiod and Solon

https://izlik.org/JA52EG79NK

Öz

The concept of justice, like other conceps of philosophy, has a history. Within the context of Ancient Greek thought, the origins of the concept of justice can be traced back to Epic and Archaic Greek poets. The earliest and most influential of these poets were Homer, Hesiod and Solon. The aim of this article is to begin revealing the genealogy of justice through the mentioned poets. To this end, the uses of the terms “themis” and “dikē,” commonly associated with the concept of justice in the literature and translations, have been examined. The main problem in the literature and translations is the anachronistic attribution of a meaning, acquired at a specific historical moment, to the uses that preceded it. In this regard, the first thesis of the article is that “themis” and “dikē” do not mean “justice” and justice8related concepts such as “right,” “a law” or “the law” in Homer, Hesiod and Solon. The second thesis is that the transformation of “dikē” in the background of “themis” from Homer to Solon paved the way for the later emergence of the concept of justice. The two arguments have been justified by demonstrating that the terms “themis” and “dikē” do not have a single, essential meaning; rather, they have various uses that are somewhat similar to each other, and these uses have transformed over time. In accordance with this kind of justification, the semantic method has been employed that puts forward particular propositions for each context, instead of the etymological method, which presents a universal proposition about the origin in advance.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Homer , Hesiod , Solon , Themis , Dike , Justice

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