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Tyche

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For other uses, seeTyche (disambiguation).
Tyche
Goddess of Fortune
Member of theOceanids
Polychrome marble statue depicting Tyche holding the infantPlutusin her arms, 2nd century AD,Istanbul Archaeological Museum
Genealogy
ParentsOceanusandTethysor
ZeusandAphroditeor
Prometheus
SiblingsOceanids,Potamoi
ChildrenPlutus
Equivalents
Roman equivalentFortuna
Greek deities
series
Personifications
List
Greek deities
series
Water deities
Nymphs

Tyche(/ˈtaɪki/;Ancient Greek:ΤύχηTúkhē,'Luck',Ancient Greek:[tý.kʰɛː],Modern Greek:[ˈti.çi];Romanequivalent:Fortuna) was the presidingtutelary deitywho governed the fortune and prosperity of a city, itsdestiny.In ClassicalGreek mythology,she is usually the daughter of the TitansTethysandOceanus,or sometimesZeus,and at this time served to bring 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 historianPolybiusbelieved 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 asPindarwho 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 theiconographyofRoman 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]

Mythology

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Family

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In literature, Tyche might be given various genealogies. She has been described as a daughter ofOceanusandTethys,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 ofDemeterandIasion.[10]

Hero myths

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According to thePausaniasin hisDescription of Greece,Palamedescreated the first pair of dice and gave them as an offering to Tyche.[11][12]

Worship

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Tyche was uniquely venerated atItanosinCrete,asTyche Protogeneia,linked with the AthenianProtogeneia( "firstborn" ), daughter ofErechtheus,whose self-sacrifice saved the city.[13]InAlexandriatheTychaeon,the Greek temple of Tyche, was described byLibaniusas 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. InAthensfor instance, citizens would give tribute toAgathe Tychealongside other gods.[17]Other gods seem to also be presented alongside Tyche includingDionysusatCorinth.[18]

There was a Temple of Tyche that contained a figure called Nemesis-Tyche, an aspect of Tyche. According to Edwards,Nemesisand Tyche begin to share cults in the Roman period.[18]

Themural crownof Tyche ofSpartadepicts the Spartans soldiers repelling Amazons. Palagia argues that this depiction is important to Spartan mythology.[19]

AutomatiaandMeilichiuswere two epithets of Tyche.[20][21]

Depictions

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Tyche on the reverse of thisbase metalcoin byGordian III(r. 238 – 244 AD)

Tyche appears on manycoinsof 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 ClitophonorDaphnis and Chloe.She experienced a resurgence in another era of uneasy change, the final days of publicly sanctionedPaganism,between the late-fourth-century emperorsJulianandTheodosius 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 ofVirgois sometimes identified as the heavenly figure of Tyche,[23]as well as other goddesses such asDemeterandAstraea.

Tyche in art

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InGreco-Romanandmedieval artTyche 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]

Tyche in theatre

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The play writer Euripides used Tyche as a literary device and personification.Apollois said to direct Tyche and even the god's plans can be influenced by the concept of Tyche.[4]

Tyche in poetry

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The poet Pindar alludes to Tyche as a goddess of fate who can control the outcome of athletic contests, according to Giannopoulou.[4]

Greco-Roman Tyche

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The Three Tychai,c. 160 AD,Louvre Museum

In late Roman sets the figures, usually four, represented the Tychai ofRome,Constantinople,Alexandria,and eitherAntioch(more usual, as in theEsquiline Treasureof 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]

Tyche of Rome

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The remains of a Greek temple of Tyche,Olba

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]

  • Tyche from the Esquiline Treasure
    Tyche from theEsquiline Treasure
  • Tyche of the city of Rome - Chronography of 354, unknown author.
    Tyche of the city of Rome - Chronography of 354, unknown author.

Tyche of Constantinople

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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]

  • Tyche from the Esquiline Treasure
    Tyche from the Esquiline Treasure
  • Base of statue that depicts Tyche holding a cornucopia. Found in Constantinople.
    Base of statue that depicts Tyche holding a cornucopia. Found in Constantinople.

Tyche of Alexandria

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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]

  • Tyche from the Esquiline Treasure
    Tyche from the Esquiline Treasure
  • Tyche of the city of Alexandria - Chronography of 354, unknown author.
    Tyche of the city of Alexandria - Chronography of 354, unknown author.

Tyche of Antioch

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A golden coin depicting Tyche with a mural crown. Found atTyre,currently in theBode Museum,Berlin.

Several artefacts feature the Tyche of Antioch with a male swimmer personifying theOrontes Riverat her feet according to Amin.[24]Her importance to the river is also strengthened by her being considered an Oceanid, according to Giannopoulou.[4]

  • Tyche from the Esquiline Treasure
    Tyche from the Esquiline Treasure
  • Provincial bronze coin of Trebonianus Gallus (reverse)
    Provincial bronze coin of Trebonianus Gallus (reverse)
  • Roman copy of a bronze by Eutychides, Galleria dei Candelabri, Vatican Museums
    Roman copy of a bronze byEutychides,Galleria dei Candelabri,Vatican Museums

Tyche in the Parthian Empire

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Silver Tetradrachm of Vologases I Enthroned king Vologases I facing left, receiving diadem from Tyche, standing with sceptre. AD 55-56

In the early years of theParthian Empire,Parthian kings, starting withMithridates I(165 BC) utilized imagery of theOlympian godsin their coinage, often with the term ΦΙΛΕΛΛΗΝΟΣ (friend of the Greeks) as a conciliatory gesture to subject Greek people living in the formerSeleucid Empirelands. 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 theKhvarenahor projection of divine rulership inZoroastrianismto the worthy king.[1]It is unclear whether this "Parthian Tyche" simultaneously represented a Zoroastrian goddess such asAnahitaorAshi,or possibly another.

Notes

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  1. ^abcdEllerbrock, Uwe (2021).The Parthians: The Forgotten Empire (Peoples of the Ancient World).Routledge. pp. 285–287.ISBN978-0367473099.
  2. ^Grant, Michael (2000).From Alexander to Cleopatra.History Book Club; BOMC ED edition. pp. 214–216.ISBN0965014207.
  3. ^Polybius.The Rise Of The Roman Empire,Page 29, Penguin, 1979.
  4. ^abcdGiannopoulou, V. (1999). "Divine Agency and" Tyche "in Euripides'" Ion ": Ambiguity and Shifting Perspectives".Illinois Classical Studies.24/25: 257–271.JSTOR23065371.
  5. ^Hesiod,Theogony360;Homeric Hymn2.420
  6. ^Pindar,Olympian12.
  7. ^Alcmanfrag 3.
  8. ^As on an Attic amphora, fifth century BC,Antikensammlung Berlin,illustrated at Theoi.com.
  9. ^Aesop,Fables413
  10. ^Hesiod,Theogony969;Diodorus Siculus,Bibliotheca historica5.77.1;Hyginus,De Astronomica2.4.7
  11. ^ab"Tyche: Greek Goddess".Encyclopedia Britannica.7 February 2018.Retrieved28 November2018.
  12. ^Pausanias,Description of Greece2.20.3
  13. ^Noted by Spyridakis, who demonstrated that earlier suggestions of a source in Fortuna Primigenia of Praeneste was anachronistic.
  14. ^Libanius, inProgymnasmata1114R, noted by Spyridakis 1969:45.
  15. ^University of California Davis faculty: Stylianos SpyridakisArchived2010-05-16 at theWayback Machine
  16. ^Spyridakis, Stylianos. "TheItaniancult of Tyche Protogeneia ",Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte18.1 (January 1969:42-48) p. 42.
  17. ^abcdefgMatheson, S.B. (1994). "The Goddess Tyche".Yale University Art Gallery Bulletin:18–33.
  18. ^abcdEdwards, Charles M. (July–September 1990). "Tyche of Corinth".Hesperia: The Journal of the American School of Classical Studies at Athens.59(3): 529–542.doi:10.2307/148301.JSTOR148301.
  19. ^abcPalagia, Olga (1994). "Tyche of Sparta".Yale University Art Gallery Bulletin:64–75.
  20. ^A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, Automatia
  21. ^A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, Meilichius
  22. ^C. M. Bowra,"Palladas on Tyche"The Classical QuarterlyNew Series,10.1 (May 1960:118–128).
  23. ^DK Multimedia: Eyewitness Encyclopedia,Stardome, Virgo: miscellaneous section
  24. ^abcdAmin, O. S. M. (29 September 2016). Tyche Furniture Ornaments.World History Encyclopedia.Retrieved fromhttps://www.worldhistory.org/image/5748/tyche-furniture-ornaments/

References

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  • Media related toTycheat Wikimedia Commons
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