EP 49: The Goddess of Fortune

How many of us know about the Goddess Tyche? Today this powerful divinity is largely forgotten. But 2,500 years ago, she was believed to determine the day-to-day fortunes of every Greek.

If your ship was tossed against rocks as you steered through a storm, it wasn’t your fate as much as your fortune. Tyche was at play. If you stumbled across a hidden treasure, you could thank the goddess. She alone dished out fortune, chance and luck.

It’s time to become reacquainted with the divinity who determined the fortune of both gods and man!  If you love this podcast, you'll also enjoy Garner's audible novel about the gods, Homo Divinitas, now available on Amazon.com and Audible.com. And find us on Youtube as well!

Transcript

EPISODE 49: THE GODDESS OF FORTUNE

THIS IS EPISODE 49 OF GARNER'S GREEK MYTHOLOGY. WE HAVE LISTENERS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD ... SO WELCOME TO EVERYONE, WHEREVER YOU ARE.

I'M YOUR HOST, MYTHOLOGIST PATRICK GARNER. 

IF YOU NEED MORE THAN A PODCAST FOR YOUR GREEK MYTHOLOGY FIX, GO TO MY WEBSITE AT PATRICKGARNERBOOKS.COM .

CHECK OUT MY FOUR NOVELS ABOUT THE GREEK GODS. 

MY STORIES ARE SET IN THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD, BUT THE GODS IN THESE BEST-SELLING BOOKS ARE THEIR TYPICAL, MANIPULATIVE SELVES. 

AS A LISTENER, WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW IS THAT, AT LAST, THERE ARE NEW, COMPELLING STORIES ABOUT THE GODS. 

AND YES, I'M ACTIVELY LOOKING FOR YOUR SUPPORT. COMMERCIAL SPONSORS WANT TO BE PART OF THESE PODCASTS. BUT I DON'T WANT THEM HERE.

WHEN YOU PURCHASE A BOOK, YOU’LL HELP TO KEEP THESE PODCASTS GOING.

NOW, ON TO THE GODDESS OF FORTUNE! 

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LET'S TAKE OUR TIME MACHINE BACK TO 400 B.C. LIFE WAS UNCERTAIN. YOU NEVER KNEW WHAT TO EXPECT FROM DAY TO DAY.

IF YOU LIVED AFTER YOUR SHIP WAS DASHED AGAINST ROCKS, YOU WOULD BLAME THE EVENT ON THE GODDESS TYCHE.

IF YOU WRESTLED IN THE EARLY OLYMPIC GAMES & WON HANDILY, YOU WOULD THANK TYCHE FOR YOUR LUCK.

IF YOU WERE A GIRL WHOSE PARENTS HAD CHOSEN A WEALTHY MAN TO BECOME YOUR HUSBAND, YOU WOULD GRATEFULLY THANK TYCHE.

BY 500 B.C., MOST GREEKS ATTRIBUTED LUCK, CHANCE & FORTUNE TO THIS GODDESS. SHE BECAME SO POPULAR THAT DOZENS OF GREEK CITIES ADOPTED HER AS THEIR PATRON DEITY, HOPING THAT THE GOOD FORTUNE MIGHT COME THEIR WAY.

WE'VE DISCUSSED IN EARLIER EPISODES THAT THE GREEKS WERE SUPERSTITIOUS. IT’S SAFE TO SAY, AMAZINGLY SUPERSTITIOUS.

ALONG WITH THEIR BELIEF IN SUPERNATURAL CAUSES FOR MOST EVENTS, THEY ASSIGNED ALMOST ALL INCIDENTS, GOOD & BAD, TO THE WHIM OF THE GODDESS TYCHE.

THE ROMANS BELIEVED IN HER, TOO. THEY ADOPTED TYCHE INTO THEIR PANTHEON WHEN THEY CONQUERED GREECE, RENAMING HER FORTUNA. 

WE, OF COURSE, DERIVE OUR WORD FORTUNE FROM FORTUNA. 

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THIS GODDESS WAS NOT ONE OF THE TWELVE OLYMPIANS. HESIOD WROTE around 700 B.C. THAT SHE WAS THE DAUGHTER OF THE TITAN OCEANUS … OR prometheus …

OR THAT she WAS zeus OR poseidon’s daughter. PERHAPS FITTINGLY, NO ONE REALLY KNEW HER ORIGIN.

Regardless, Tyche became increasing popular. AND because she represented fortune, whether good or bad, she was IN MANY WAYS a perfect divinity for the times. 

After all, GREEKS believed that fortune was aCCIDENTAL. life itself was like the throw of dice. EXCEPT THAT TYCHE DETERMINED WHAT NUMBERS CAME UP.

I SHOULD MENTION THAT TYCHE WORKED IN OPPOSITION TO THE GODDESS NEMESIS. TODAY WE THINK OF NEMESIS AS BEING SOMEONE'S ENEMY. 

TO THE GREEKS, NEMESIS WAS THE goddess of resentment & retribution. BUT, SHE WAS ALSO A GODDESS WHO VALUED BALANCE ... 

WHILE TYCHE OFTEN SPREAD CHAOS BY BEING ARBITRARY, NEMESIS SOUGHT TO COUNTER HER ACTIONS.

TODAY WE STILL SEEK BALANCE. ONE WAY TO EXPRESS IT IS BY WISHING SOMEONE “ENOUGH.”

THERE IS A POPULAR STORY OF A PARENT WISHING A CHILD  ENOUGH SUN TO KEEP A BRIGHT ATTITUDE... 

AND ENOUGH RAIN TO APPRECIATE THE SUN EVEN MORE … 

ENOUGH HAPPINESS TO KEEP THE SPIRIT ALIVE ... & ENOUGH PAIN TO MAGNIFY THE SMALLEST JOY

THEY MAY WISH A CHILD ... ENOUGH GAIN TO SATISY WANTING, & ENOUGH LOSS TO APPRECIATE WHAT’S IN HAND.

FINDING BALANCE IS ALWAYS DIFFICULT, & TYCHE & NEMESIS WERE ALWAYS IN A DIVINE WRESTLING MATCH.

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TEMPLES HONORING TYCHE WERE FOUND THROUGHOUT GREECE. SACRIFICES & PRAYERS ASKING HER FORBEARANCE WERE COMMON.

PINDAR WROTE A PRAYER TO HER IN WHICH HE PLEADED,

"Daughter of Zeus the Liberator, Tyche, our savior goddess, your hand steers the ships of ocean on their flying course, & rules on land the march of savage wars ..."

IN TIME SHE WAS BELIEVED TO BRING MORE GOOD FORTUNE THAN BAD. AN ANONYMOUS POET ABOUT 2,600 YEARS AGO WROTE,

"Tyche, you sit in Wisdom's seat & give honor to mortal deeds; from you comes more good than evil. Grace shines about your golden wings.”

CONSEQUENTLY, TYCHE BECAME THE GUARDIAN OF NUMEROUS NEW GREEK COLONIES. AND TO HEDGE THEIR BETS, THE COLONISTS OFTEN ERECTED SHRINES THAT COMBINED TYCHE WITH OTHER GODDESSES.

FOR INSTANCE, IN THE TOWN OF DION, A STATUE OF ISIS-TYCHE WAS EXCAVATED IN 1979. THIS DOUBLE GODDESS HELD A HORN OF PLENTY, A SYMBOL OF PROSPERITY.

BRONZE STATUETTES OF ATHENA-ISIS-TYCHE WERE ALSO COMMON THROUGHOUT THE ANCIENT WORLD.

IN THESE INSTANCES, the wisdom of ATHENE, the benevolence of ISIS, & the GOOD FORTUNE of Tyche WERE COMBINED. 

IT WAS HOPED THAT THESE TRIPLE GODDESSES WOULD BE FAR MORE POWERFUL THAN A STATUE OF TYCHE ALONE.

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STILL, THE BELIEF THAT TYCHE SPREAD BAD LUCK PERSISTED. IN THE 6TH CENTURY, AESOP IN ONE OF HIS FABLES WROTE,

"A farmer had started turning the earth with his plow when he saw a treasure suddenly spring into view from the depths of the furrow. 

"His spirit soared as he abandoned the lowly plow & drove his oxen off to other pastures. He immediately built an altar to the earth goddess Gaia, worshipping her for his wealth.

"But while the farmer was rejoicing in his new circumstances, the goddess Tyche was indignant that he had not considered her equally worthy of incense & offerings. 

“She thus appeared to the man & said: ‘Instead of making an offering of your new-found wealth in my temple, you are sharing it with other gods ...

"Yet when your gold is stolen & you are stricken with grief, then you will blame me in your despair!’"

AND IN ANOTHER OF HIS FABLES, AESOP WRITES,

"A workman had thoughtlessly fallen asleep one night next to a well. While he slept, he seemed to hear the voice of Tyche, the goddess of fortune, as she stood there beside him. 

‘Hey yooou,’ the goddess said, ‘you'd better wake up! If you fall into the well, I’ll be the one that people blame, giving me a bad reputation. 

"I’m tired of people blaming me for everything that happens to them.’"

TODAY WE MIGHT SAY THAT TYCHE WAS A BIT TOUCHY, & SENSITIVE TO CRITICISM. BUT WE COULD ALSO SAY SHE BROUGHT IT ALL ON HERSELF!

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OF COURSE, AS WE DISCUSS TYCHE, WE CAN’T IGNORE THE FATES, THE THREE SISTERS WHO DETERMINED EVERY HUMAN’S FATE.

LET'S BE CLEAR: THE GREEKS VIEWED FATE & FORTUNE DIFFERENTLY. AS YOU'LL RECALL FROM PREVIOUS EPISODES, THE FATES ESSENTIALLY DECIDED EVERYONE'S LIFESPAN.

AT EACH PERSON'S BIRTH, THE FATES DETERMINED THE YEARS THEY WOULD LIVE, & THEN LET THE CLOCK RUN.

BUT WHAT HAPPENED IN-BETWEEN — WHAT EVENTS TRANSPIRED TO THAT PERSON, WHETHER GOOD OR BAD — WAS TYCHE'S CHOICE.

IF YOU WERE IN A SMALL VILLAGE ON THE SEA WHEN PIRATES ATTACKED, YOUR FORTUNE HAD BEEN DETERMINED BY TYCHE, NOT THE FATES.

IF YOU WERE CAPTURED BY SOLDIERS & ENSLAVED, THAT TOO WAS TYCHE'S DOING. THESE WERE DAY-TO-DAY EVENTS … & SHE REGULATED EACH.

AND ANOTHER FASCINATING POINT: SHE — LIKE THE FATES — WAS MORE POWERFUL THAN ZEUS OR THE OTHER GODS.

SHE TOYED WITH EVENTS IN THE GOD'S LIVES AS COMMONLY AS SHE DID HUMAN'S. THE GODS TRUSTED HER NO MORE THAN MEN & WOMEN DID.

WHEN HEPHAISTOS WAS THROWN OFF OLYMPUS BY THE GODDESS HERA, IT WAS NOT HIS FATE AS MUCH AS IT WAS HIS MISFORTUNE. TYCHE MADE IT SO.

WHEN THE MIGHTY TITAN PROMETHEUS WAS TIED TO THE CLIFFS TO BE PUNISHED, ZEUS COULD BE BLAMED. BUT ULTIMATELY, TYCHE HAD OKAYED THE SENTENCE.

ON A WHIM SHE MIGHT TOSS YOU TO THE SHARKS ROAMING THE AEGEAN. OR AS LIKELY, GRANT YOU THE VAST FORTUNE OF A KING. 

YET, WHATEVER HER ACTIONS, SHE WAS LARGELY INDISCRIMINATE, DETACHED & UNEMOTIONAL. SHE SIMPLY DID AS SHE WISHED.

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AN EXAMPLE OF HOW SHE COULD BE UTTERLY DISINTERESTED — OR MORE ACCURATELY, ALOOF — IS ILLUSTRATED IN ONE OF THE MORE FAMOUS MOMENTS IN THE TALES OF THE GODS.

YOU'LL REMEMBER PERSEPHONE, WHO WAS THE GODDESS DEMETER'S DAUGHTER. SHE WAS CAPTURED BY HADES & TAKEN FORCIBLY TO THE DARK UNDERWORLD.

THERE SHE BECAME HIS WIFE, & THE QUEEN OF THAT FORSAKEN PLACE. THE GREEKS REGARDED HER AS THE QUEEN OF DEATH.

HER CAPTURE BY HADES HAPPENED ONE LOVELY AFTERNOON AS PERSEPHONE & HER FRIENDS PICKED FLOWERS.

AS SHE LATER EXPLAINED TO HER MOTHER, “We were playing & gathering sweet flowers in our hands, soft crocuses mingled with irises and hyacinths …

"And rose-blooms & lilies, marvelous to see, & the narcissus which the wide earth caused to grow yellow as a crocus —”

WHAT WAS SHOCKING ABOUT THE EVENT? TYCHE WAS THERE AMONG THE GIRLS, PLAYING ALONG AS IF SHE WERE INNOCENT.

PERSEPHONE  WAS HER FRIEND. SUDDENLY LORD HADES SWEPT IN ON HIS CHARIOT & SCOOPED PERSEPHONE INTO HIS ARMS.

SHE SCREAMED & FOUGHT AGAINST HIM, BUT HER RESISTANCE WAS TO NO AVAIL. HER "FORTUNE" WAS TO BECOME HIS QUEEN.

TYCHE WATCHED THE EVENT UNFOLD. SHE COULD HAVE INTERVENED EASILY. SHE WAS, AFTER ALL, MORE POWERFUL THAN HADES HIMSELF.

YET SHE DID NOT. HER FRIEND — THE YOUNG, BEAUTIFUL PERSEPHONE — WAS TAKEN BY FORCE TO THE WORLD OF THE DEAD. 

IF ANYONE HAD ASKED TYCHE WHAT SHE THOUGHT, SHE MIGHT HAVE SAID, “OH, THAT’S JUST THE WAY THINGS GO …”

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THE GREEKS COULDN’T FIGURE HER OUT. THEY PARTIALLY RATIONALIZED TYCHE'S ACTIONS IN LATER YEARS BY CLAIMING SHE WAS BLIND. 

THEY SAID THAT SHE COULDN'T SEE WHAT RESULTED FROM HER CHOICES.

 A ROMAN WRITER, Apuleias, SAYS IN HIS BOOK, The Golden Ass,

"Learned men of old had good grounds for envisaging & describing the goddess Fortuna as blind & utterly sightless. 

“That goddess, I muse, ever bestows her riches on the wicked & the unworthy, never favoring anyone by discerning choice. 

“Worst of all, she foists on us reputations at odds with the truth, so that the evil man boasts in the glory of being honest, while by contrast the transparently innocent man is afflicted with a poor reputation."

LATER IN THE SAME BOOK, Apuleias WRITES,

"But truly, if Fortune disapproves, nothing can turn out right for any mortal, & neither wise planning nor shrewd remedies can overturn or reshape her choice."

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THESE ANCIENT AUTHORS PAINT A RATHER DISMAL PICTURE OF THE GODDESS, BLAMING HER FOR MISFORTUNE & ILL FATE.

BUT AT TIMES SHE WAS THE CAUSE OF IMMENSE SUCCESS. THE CONSTANT BATTLEFIELD VICTORIES OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT WERE ATTRIBUTED TO TYCHE.

ONCE ALEXANDER HAD CONQUERED THE KNOWN WORLD, SHE — CONSIDERED HIS PATRON DEITY — BECAME EVEN MORE POPULAR.

ONE EARLY WRITER SAID,

"Alexander's achievements were splendid ... Let most of it be put down to Tykhe who clearly favored the man.”

AFTER HIS VICTORIES, SHRINES & TEMPLES TO THE GODDESS SPRUNG UP IN ALL OVER THE REGION. AND TYCHE’S FAME SPREAD.

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BUT THAT WAS LONG AGO. IS ANY OF THIS FORTUNE STUFF RELEVANT TODAY?

CONSCIOUSLY OR NOT, WE STILL USE THE ANCIENT PHRASES. THINK OF HOW OFTEN YOU HEAR SOMEONE SAYING, "JUST BLAME IT ON MISFORTUNE" …

OR, "SHE HAD A STROKE OF BAD LUCK" OR THE OPPOSITE SAYING, "IT WAS PURE LUCK." EVEN SIMPLER, PEOPLE SAY, "HE'S JUST LUCKY."

THESE PHRASES ARE ALL AS ANCIENT AS TYCHE HERSELF. WHEN THEY WERE UTTERED BY GREEKS 2,500 YEARS AGO, THE GREEKS DID SO THINKING OF THE GODDESS.

TODAY HER NAME HAS LARGELY BEEN FORGOTTEN. BUT HER ACTIONS, HER SEEMINGLY RANDOM CHOICES FOR EACH OF US GO ON WITHOUT MISSING A BEAT ...

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AND EVEN TODAY MANY OF US SEEK TO KNOW OUR FORTUNE. YOU STILL SEE SIGNS ADVERTISING FORTUNE TELLERS.

HOROSCOPES & ASTROLOGY REMAIN POPULAR. WE FLIP COINS TO SEE WHO WINS. TAROT CARDS CONTINUE TO BE SHUFFLED & INTERPRETED BY THOUSANDS EVERY DAY. 

THERE ARE OUIJA BOARDS & GAMES OF CHANCE. EVEN THE ANCIENT GODDESSES WHO WALK AMONG US NOW IN THEIR DISGUISES TRY TO DODGE THE WHIMS OF TYCHE.

IN MY 3RD NOVEL, "CYCLADIC GIRLS," THE GODDESS TIMESSA PULLS A TAROT CARD FROM A POCKET IN HER BLOUSE. THE CARD IS THE WHEEL OF FORTUNE.

SHE SAYS TO HER GUESTS, "IT PREDICTS THAT ALL HAPPINESS ENDS IN RUIN." EVERYONE SITS IN SILENCE. YET HER LOVER, IO, SNATCHES THE CARD FROM HER HAND.

SHE HOLDS IT ALOFT A MOMENT, THEN SAYS, "ONLY FOOLS USE THESE FOR DIVINATION. OUR HAPPINESS HAS NO END."

WITH A FLOURISH SHE DIPS THE CARD INTO THE FLAME OF A CANDLE & ALLOWS IT TO BURST INTO FLAME …

IO, OF COURSE, BURNS THE WHEEL OF FORTUNE CARD IN AN ATTEMPT TO THWART TYCHE’S RANDOM, OFTEN THOUGHTLESS, ACTIONS. 

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MY NOVELS ARE FILLED WITH SIMILAR MOMENTS. GODS & GODDESSES IN THESE BOOKS ARE SEDUCTIVE, SEDITIOUS & HIGHLY DANGEROUS.

THEY MANEUVER & SCHEME. THEY'RE TRICKSTERS & TRAITORS. NONE OF THEM TRUST EACH OTHER. THEY APPEAR & DISAPPEAR AT WILL.

THEY SEEK LOVE & ANSWERS TO THE GREAT QUESTIONS WE ALL SEEK ... IN SO MANY WAYS, THEY'RE NO DIFFERENT THAN YOU & I.

WHAT DOES DIFFERENTIATE THEM IS THAT THEY OUTLIVE US. THEIR IMMORTALITY CAN BE AN ADVANTAGE. IT CAN ALSO BE A HANDICAP.

HOW? THEY HAVE FAR MORE YEARS TO WONDER WHO THEY ARE, TO ASK THEIR PURPOSE. AND TO HOLD ETERNAL GRUDGES  .. TALK ABOUT A SET UP FOR NEW AND EXCITING PLOTS!

UNTIL NOW, THEIR STORIES HAVE GONE UNTOLD. SCHOLARS INSIST THESE GLORIOUS BEINGS ARE ALL IMAGINARY — & NOTHING MORE THAN METAPHORS.

MY OPINION? DON'T BELIEVE IT ...  

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JOIN ME ... FOR THE NEXT EPISODE OF GARNER'S GREEK MYTHOLOGY. AND VISIT Patrick-Garner-Books-dot-com. 

THE WEBSITE INCLUDES INFORMATION ABOUT MY BOOKS, THIS PODCAST AND ARTWORK THAT INCLUDES THE GREEK GODS. 

THERE IS EVEN A LITTLE BOOK FOR THE CHILDREN IN YOUR LIFE CALLED READ-ALOUD STORIES FOR YOUNG LISTENERS. 

FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ALSO LOVE TO LISTEN, GO ON AUDIBLE.COM TO FIND MY NOVEL HOMO DIVINITAS.

IT’S PART OF THE NAXOS QUARTET, WHICH INCLUDES THE WINNOWING, CYCLADIC GIRLS & ALL THAT LASTS. 

HOMO DIVINITAS, LIKE ALL MY BOOKS, CAN BE ENJOYED WITHOUT READING THE OTHERS OR EVEN KNOWING MUCH ABOUT GREEK MYTHOLOGY. 

BY THE WAY, THE NAME HOMO DIVINITAS REFERS TO THE DIVINE BRANCH OF OUR HUMAN FAMILY TREE — THE GREEK GODS, OF COURSE!

AS I ALWAYS SAY, THEY'RE HERE, NOW.

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THANKS FOR LISTENING ... THIS IS YOUR HOST, PATRICK GARNER.