Fortuna Essay

395 Words2 Pages
Fortuna Fortuna is the Roman Goddess of Luck, Fate, and Fortune. The name Fortuna finds its root in the Latin fero, meaning "to bring, win, receive, or get". As the “first-born” daughter of Jupiter, Fortuna was believed to fix a new-born child's destiny or fate, whether it be good or bad. She is usually depicted holding in one hand a cornucopia, or a horn of plenty, from which all good things flowed in abundance, representing her ability to bestow prosperity; in the other she generally has a ship's rudder, to indicate that she is the one who controls how lives and fates are steered. Other depictions of her are shown with a small wheel built into the chair, representing the cycles of fate and the ups and downs of fortune, blind as an acknowledgment that good luck does not always come to those who seem to most deserve it, and with wings. Her worship in Rome traditionally goes back to the time of Ancus Martius, the 4th King of Rome, who reigned from 640-616 BCE. Her many temples in Rome are a reflection of the manners in which she was honored. She was looked upon as a Goddess of the State, ensuring the fortune of the populace, the luck of the Emperor, or the fate of the entire Roman Empire, to a personal Goddess, overseeing the fate of the individual father, mother, child, or soldier. She had many temples in Rome, as well as having important cult-centers in Antium which is considered the modern Anzio, a city on the west coast of Italy about 30 miles south of Rome, and Praeneste which is modern Palestrina, about 20 miles south-east of Rome. The Emperor Trajan dedicated a temple to Fortuna, at which offerings were made to the Goddess on January 1st to ensure good luck and success for the coming year. This temple was dedicated to Fortuna in all of her aspects. There are over 20 aspects of Fortuna, some of which are: Fortuna Belli, the
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