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

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

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<strong>The</strong> <strong>Goddess</strong> <strong>Fortuna</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>Imperial</strong> <strong>Rome</strong>:<br />

<strong>Cult</strong>, <strong>Art</strong>, <strong>Text</strong><br />

Publication No._____________<br />

Darius Andre Arya, Ph.D.<br />

<strong>The</strong> <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> Texas at Aust<strong>in</strong>, 2002<br />

Supervisor: Karl Gal<strong>in</strong>sky<br />

<strong>Fortuna</strong> <strong>in</strong> imperial <strong>Rome</strong> was a complex, multivalent deity, venerated with<br />

particular fervency dur<strong>in</strong>g the first and second centuries CE. This study presents an<br />

exam<strong>in</strong>ation <strong>of</strong> the cont<strong>in</strong>ual evolution <strong>of</strong> the cult and image <strong>of</strong> goddess <strong>in</strong> case studies<br />

from cult sett<strong>in</strong>gs, artistic depictions, and literary descriptions, reveal<strong>in</strong>g the multiple<br />

mean<strong>in</strong>gs that she conveyed to Romans and Greeks dur<strong>in</strong>g the imperial period.<br />

<strong>Fortuna</strong>’s evolv<strong>in</strong>g character was due to a variety <strong>of</strong> political, religious, social<br />

exigencies. Romans considered her a s<strong>in</strong>gle, universalized deity and qualified her with<br />

over n<strong>in</strong>ety epithets, accord<strong>in</strong>g to different sett<strong>in</strong>gs and needs. However, despite<br />

<strong>Fortuna</strong>’s strong rapport with Tyche, the modern term “Tyche-<strong>Fortuna</strong>” has only served<br />

to obscure the persona <strong>of</strong> <strong>Fortuna</strong> because it has been <strong>in</strong>terpreted variously <strong>in</strong> religious,<br />

art historical, and literary studies; <strong>Fortuna</strong> did not simply become Tyche <strong>in</strong> the imperial<br />

period. In the first chapter, two studies <strong>of</strong> Tyche statues demonstrate that the Romans<br />

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