Humanity at the dawn of civilizations worshiped luck and good fortune, which in ancient Greece were identified with the goddess Tyche, and in ancient Rome with the goddess Fortuna.
The name of the second one is known to everyone today, and can be considered a semantic analogy (practically synonymous) with the words "luck" and "fate".
Fortune and her wheel
The word "fortune" is of ancient Roman origin, literally translated from Latin as "fate". Initially, it was identified with the cult of Fortune, which originated long before the heyday of the Roman Empire, presumably in Latium, among the Italians, in the period from the 10th to the 7th century BC.
It is possible that the Latins worshiped this cult even before migrating to the Apennine Peninsula, and brought this tradition with them. There are no reliable facts confirming this, but it is known for sure that Fortune was worshiped in Ancient Rome in the 6th century BC. Confirmation of this is the ancient temple built by the sixth king of Ancient Rome - Servius Tullius on the banks of the Tiber River - in the period from 578 to 534 BC.
Initially, farmers worshiped Fortuna, celebrating Fortis Fortunae on June 24 every year. It was believed that successful combinations of circumstances leading to a rich harvest depend on the favor of the goddess: warm weather, precipitation, river floods. Later, the tradition of worship was adopted by pastoralists, whose wealth also directly depended on the fertility of pastures.
At about the same historical period, ancient Rome already had its own goddess of harvest and fertility - Ceres, which casts doubt on the Roman origin of Fortuna. Most likely, this cult was borrowed from the Italians, or from the ancient Greeks, and developed in parallel with the traditional ancient Roman mythology.
Late Roman Fortune
How and when the cult of Fortune originated in ancient Rome is not known for certain, but during her heyday, the popularity of the goddess of fate, the goddess of fortune, was enormous. Thousands of altars and chapels dedicated to Fortuna are scattered throughout the territory of the former Roman Empire, as well as tens of thousands of images and engravings found at archaeological sites.
The face of the goddess of fate was printed on ancient coins, on household items, on the products of artisans, on home altars. In terms of the number of admirers, Fortune can be compared with Mercury, the god of material wealth, trade and profit.
It is also worth noting that Fortuna is included in the cult of ancient Roman emperors under the name Fortuna Augusta. She received special reverence in 19 BC - after the victorious return of Octavian Augustus from the East.
The goddess was often depicted with a cornucopia and a wheel, and surrounded by other personifications: Felicitas, Hilaritas, Concordia, Fides. Beginning in the first century AD, Fortuna was often depicted with Isis, the goddess of femininity and motherhood.
In addition to the ancient temple of Servius Tullius, erected in the 6th century BC on the Tiber River, other majestic temples were later dedicated to Fortuna. In 194 BC, the Temple of Fortuna Primigenia was built, in 180 BC, the Temple of Fortuna Equita, and in 101 BC, the Luck of This Day Temple.
The fame of the goddess of fate continued after the fall of the Roman Empire. The cult spread throughout the countries of Western Europe and unofficially existed throughout the Middle Ages. They did not forget about the goddess in the period of the New Age, naming an asteroid discovered in 1852 in her honor.
Today, the word "fortune" is more often associated not with the ancient Roman deity, but with luck and fate. There is a wheel of fortune (roulette) in every casino, and the expression "fortune's favorite" is firmly entrenched in society, meaning a lucky person who is lucky in all endeavors.
Despite the transition to the digital age, a huge number of people around the world still rely more than on common sense and accurate calculation, but on luck. The expression "trust fortune" seems to never get old, although today the role of the goddess is increasingly played by a randomizer, or a pseudo-random number generator.
