28.10.2013 Views

The Goddess Fortuna in Imperial Rome: Cult, Art, Text - University of ...

The Goddess Fortuna in Imperial Rome: Cult, Art, Text - University of ...

The Goddess Fortuna in Imperial Rome: Cult, Art, Text - University of ...

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

Create successful ePaper yourself

Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.

society and was readily adopted by the freedmen class for use <strong>in</strong> art, primarily<br />

tomb sett<strong>in</strong>gs. Two famous examples depict the deceased, Claudia Iusta and Julia<br />

Secunda, as <strong>Fortuna</strong> on their tombs.<br />

<strong>The</strong> tomb <strong>of</strong> Claudia Iusta has become a frequently cited example <strong>of</strong> the<br />

use <strong>of</strong> <strong>Fortuna</strong> <strong>in</strong> non-elite art. 1099 <strong>The</strong>re are portraits <strong>of</strong> her, depicted as <strong>Fortuna</strong>,<br />

her husband, C. Iulius Germanus, and their daughter. Accord<strong>in</strong>g to the <strong>in</strong>scription<br />

<strong>Fortuna</strong>e sacrum/ Claudiae Iustae (CIL 6.3691), the site was dedicated to<br />

<strong>Fortuna</strong>. It is possible that, given the l<strong>in</strong>k between the <strong>Fortuna</strong> shr<strong>in</strong>e and the<br />

portrayal <strong>of</strong> Claudia Iusta as <strong>Fortuna</strong>, she paid for the funerary monument. Just as<br />

the iconography <strong>of</strong> the tomb <strong>of</strong> Naevoleia Tyche <strong>in</strong> Pompeii suggests that she<br />

paid for the tomb, it appears that Claudia Iusta also paid for her own funerary<br />

monument. Claudia could be depict<strong>in</strong>g herself as the symbol <strong>of</strong> the monetary<br />

fortune <strong>of</strong> her family, just as <strong>Fortuna</strong> appears prom<strong>in</strong>ently <strong>in</strong> the fresco depict<strong>in</strong>g<br />

the life (and atta<strong>in</strong>ed wealth) <strong>of</strong> the freedman Trimalchio and throughout the wall<br />

pa<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>gs <strong>in</strong> the House <strong>of</strong> the Vettii, freedmen brothers who struck it rich <strong>in</strong> post-<br />

earthquake Pompeii. 1100<br />

Likewise, the tomb <strong>of</strong> Julia Secunda is an important document <strong>of</strong> the<br />

mean<strong>in</strong>g <strong>of</strong> <strong>Fortuna</strong> <strong>in</strong> Roman society. 1101 Accord<strong>in</strong>g to the funerary <strong>in</strong>scription,<br />

Julia died <strong>in</strong> a storm at sea before reach<strong>in</strong>g the age <strong>of</strong> twelve. <strong>The</strong> tomb<br />

1099 Wrede (1981) 233-234; Matheson (1996) 189; Kle<strong>in</strong>er (1987) 253-256.<br />

1100 <strong>Fortuna</strong> appears prom<strong>in</strong>ently <strong>in</strong> two wall pa<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>gs <strong>in</strong> the house, one by the strongbox (arca):<br />

discussed <strong>in</strong> Clarke (1991) 223.<br />

348

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!