| Tyche | |
|---|---|
Goddess of Fortune | |
| Member of theOceanids | |
 Polychrome marble statue depicting Tyche holding the infantPlutus in her arms, 2nd century AD,Istanbul Archaeological Museum | |
| Symbol | Mural crown |
| Genealogy | |
| Parents | Oceanus andTethys or Zeus andAphrodite or Prometheus |
| Siblings | Oceanids, theriver gods |
| Children | Plutus |
| Equivalents | |
| Roman | Fortuna |
| Greek deities series |
|---|
| Water deities |
| Waternymphs |
Tyche (/ˈtaɪki/;Ancient Greek: ΤύχηTúkhē, 'Luck',Ancient Greek:[tý.kʰɛː],Modern Greek:[ˈti.çi];Roman equivalent:Fortuna) was the presidingtutelary deity who governed the fortune and prosperity of a city, itsdestiny. In ClassicalGreek mythology, she is the daughter of the TitansTethys andOceanus, and she brings positive messages to people relating to external events outside their control.[1]
During theHellenistic period, with dramatic socio-political changes starting withAlexander the Great, Tyche increasingly embodied the whims of fate (both negative and positive), eclipsing the role of the Olympic gods.[1][2] The Greek historianPolybius believed that when no cause can be discovered to events such as floods, droughts, frosts, or even in politics, then the cause of these events may be fairly attributed to Tyche.[3] Other ancient Greek sources corroborate Polybius, such asPindar who claims Tyche could hand victory to a lesser athlete.[4] This "Hellenistic Tyche" is often featured on coins such as those minted byDemetrius I Soter. Further, Tyche comes to represent not only personal fate, but the fate of communities. Cities venerated their ownTychai, specific iconic versions of the original Tyche. This practice was continued in theiconography ofRoman art, even into theChristian period, often as sets of the greatest cities of the empire.
Tyche was further absorbed into theParthian Empire, who frequently depicted Tyche in their coins, as well as in imagery bestowing legitimacy to Parthian kings.[1]
In literature, Tyche might be given various genealogies. She has been described as a daughter ofOceanus andTethys, thus one of theOceanids,[5] or of Zeus,[6] or evenPrometheus.[7] She was connected withNemesis[8] andAgathos Daimon ("good spirit").
She is sometimes named as the mother ofPlutus,[9] the god of wealth; usually, however, he is the son ofDemeter andIasion.[10]
According toPausanias in hisDescription of Greece,Palamedes created the first pair of dice and gave them as an offering to Tyche.[11][12]
Tyche was uniquely venerated atItanos inCrete, asTyche Protogeneia, linked with the AthenianProtogeneia ("firstborn"), daughter ofErechtheus, whose self-sacrifice saved the city.[13] InAlexandria theTychaeon, the Greek temple of Tyche, was described byLibanius as one of the most magnificent of the entire Hellenistic world.[14]
Stylianos Spyridacis[15] concisely expressed Tyche's appeal in a Hellenistic world of arbitrary violence and unmeaning reverses: "In the turbulent years of theEpigoni of Alexander, an awareness of the instability of human affairs led people to believe that Tyche, the blind mistress of Fortune, governed mankind with an inconstancy which explained the vicissitudes of the time."[16]
According to Matheson, the Goddess Tyche was often worshipped as the personification of a city and its fortune. Matheson also states that there were cults to Tyche all over the Mediterranean. InAthens for instance, citizens would give tribute toAgathe Tyche alongside other gods.[17] Other gods seem to also be presented alongside Tyche includingDionysus atCorinth.[18]
There was a Temple of Tyche that contained a figure called Nemesis-Tyche, an aspect of Tyche. According to Edwards,Nemesis and Tyche begin to share cults in the Roman period.[18]
Themural crown of Tyche ofSparta depicts the Spartans soldiers repelling Amazons. Palagia argues that this depiction is important to Spartan mythology.[19]
Automatia andMeilichius were two epithets of Tyche.[20][21]
Tyche appears on manycoins of the Hellenistic period in the three centuries before theChristian era, especially fromcities in the Aegean. Unpredictable turns of fortune drive the complicated plotlines ofHellenistic romances, such as,Leucippe and Clitophon orDaphnis and Chloe. She experienced a resurgence in another era of uneasy change, the final days of publicly sanctionedPaganism, between the late-fourth-century emperorsJulian andTheodosius I, who definitively closed the temples. The effectiveness of her capricious power even achieved respectability in philosophical circles during that generation, although among poets it was a commonplace to revile her for a fickle harlot.[22]
The constellation ofVirgo is sometimes identified as the heavenly figure of Tyche,[23] as well as other goddesses such asDemeter,Dike andAstraea.
InGreco-Roman andmedieval art, Tyche was depicted as wearing amural crown, and carrying acornucopia (horn of plenty), anemblematicgubernaculum (ship's rudder), and thewheel of fortune, or she may stand on the wheel, presiding over the entire circle of fate.
The mural crown's significance is that it identifies her as the goddess of the city, and in the case of Sparta her mural crown depicted a part of their foundation myth of their city.[17][19] The mural crown is often used by archeologists and historians to identify a figure in art as Tyche.[18]
According to Matheson the Goddess Tyche, being one of the Oceanids, is considered to be an ocean goddess of some kind. Citing how Pindar refers to her in his poems, "he implores her to keep watch aroundHimera, a port" and how she is often depicted holding a ship's rudder.[17]
The play writer Euripides used Tyche as a literary device and personification.Apollo is said to direct Tyche and even the god's plans can be influenced by the concept of Tyche.[4]
The poet Pindar alludes to Tyche as a goddess of fate who can control the outcome of athletic contests, according to Giannopoulou.[4]
In late Roman sets the figures, usually four, represented the Tychai ofRome,Constantinople,Alexandria, and eitherAntioch (more usual, as in theEsquiline Treasure of about 380 AD) orTrier, as in theCalendar of 354. The Tychai may be seen wearing amural crown (a crown like the walls of the city).
Another common depiction of Tyche in the Greco-Roman period was Nemesis-Tyche.[18]
The Tyche of Rome was represented "in military costume" according to Amin.[24] In Rome and the other parts of the Western Roman Empire she was referred to as Fortuna.[11][17]
Amin mentions that the attributes of the Tyche of Constantinople included acornucopia.[24] Tyche was still a figure in Constantinople, depicted on coins well into early Christian Rome. Matheson argues that the Tyche of Constantinople replaced the one of Antioch as the typical representation.[17]
.JPG)
The Tyche of Alexandria "hold sheaves of corns and rests her foot on the bow of a ship" as described by Amin.[24] This could be related to how other depictions of Tyche, like the one in Sparta, are seen with ships rudders.[19] This is because she can steer events argues Matheson.[17] Also, Pindar describes her power over ships "At thy bidding, swift ships are steered upon the sea.[17]
Several artefacts feature the Tyche of Antioch with a male swimmer personifying theOrontes River at her feet according to Amin.[24] Her importance to the river is also strengthened by her being considered an Oceanid, according to Giannopoulou.[4] The Antiochene Tyche maintained relevance much later into the Christian dominated empire, as show by officialPentanummium coins minted during the reigns ofJustin (r.518-527) andJustinian (r.527-565) that depict her in her temple on the reverse.[25]
In the early years of theParthian Empire, Parthian kings, starting withMithridates I (165 BC) utilized imagery of theOlympian gods in their coinage, often with the term ΦΙΛΕΛΛΗΝΟΣ (friend of the Greeks) as a conciliatory gesture to subject Greek people living in the formerSeleucid Empire lands. However, by the time ofVologases I (51 AD), the only Greek imagery used on coins was the goddess Tyche, who continued to be represented on Parthian coins for the next 200 years. In later imagery, Tyche provides theKhvarenah or projection of divine rulership inZoroastrianism to the worthy king.[1] It is unclear whether this "Parthian Tyche" simultaneously represented a Zoroastrian goddess such asAnahita orAshi, or possibly another.
Media related toTyche at Wikimedia Commons
