History
A brief history of Zeta Tau Alpha's origins.
Zeta Tau Alpha was founded on October 15, 1898, by nine women at the Virginia State Female Normal School (now Longwood University) in Farmville, Virginia. The nine founders of ZTA are: Patron Goddess: The Founders chose Themis to represent the Fraternity. Themis is, in Greek mythology, one of the Titans, daughter of Gaea (Earth) and Uranus (Heaven), and the mother of the three Fates and the Seasons. The goddess of divine justice and law, Themis was the constant companion of the god Zeus and sat beside him on Olympus. In ancient art she is represented holding aloft a pair of scales on which she weighs the claims of opposing parties. | The open motto of ZTA is: 'Seek the Noblest.' The colors of ZTA are: turquoise blue and steel gray. The purpose of ZTA is: The purpose of Zeta Tau Alpha is to intensify friendship, promote happiness among its members, to perform such deeds, and to mould such opinions as will conduce to the building up of a purer and nobler womanhood in the world. Official Symbols: The five-pointed Crown is an official symbol of the Fraternity. In the late 1800s, an admirer of one of ZTA's Founders, Mary Campbell Jones (Batte), sent her a gift of strawberries. The scrumptious present prompted the group of nine friends to host their first purely social gathering and to become officially recognized as a campus organization. Flower: The flower of the Fraternity, chosen by Founder Ruby Leigh Orgain, is the white violet. There are currently 242 chapters of Zeta Tau Alpha. The Rockhurst University chapter- Kappa Eta- was the 221st chapter to receive a charter. The Rockhurst chapter was founded on April 16, 1994. |
