Discover Top Posts Tagged with #fortune deities

Artio, Goddess of Wild Life, Transformation, and Abundance

Artio, Celtic Goddess of Wild Life, Transformation, and Abundance, is one of the more obscure goddesses in the Celtic pantheon. She is often shown with baskets of plenty and surrounded by animals. Artio is frequently depicted as a bear. Her name comes from the old Celtic word for bear, arth(e), which the Roman’s Latinized to Artos.

Gods of Antiquity: Fortune Deities

Source: https://www.pickpik.com/fortune-telling-future-magic-astrology-divination-tarot-10692

Fortune, whether luck or wealth, is often seen as a destiny or fate that can be influenced apart from those who typically steer the lives of people. In the modern usage, fortune is often linked only to wealth, but wealth, luck, and a fortuitous life were often considered separate.

By Glycon of Athens (copy), Lysippos (original type) - Marie-Lan Nguyen (2011), CC BY 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16486388

One of the Ancient Greek ideals of a fortune touched lives is that of the hero Heracles. Though he had his tragedies, such as Hera hating him due to his father being the adulterous Zeus, being rendered mad by Hera and killing his first wife and their children, being made to serve King Eurystheus and perform the Twelve Labors (initially 10), he was known also for his ingenuity, courage, strength, and sexual prowess with men and women. He was also ascended to Olympus as a god and was able to reconcile with Hera after he did so.

No machine-readable source provided. Own work assumed (based on copyright claims)., CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9811227

Hermes is the messenger of the gods, but he was also a shepherd god. As such, at least in the area of Boeotia, he was worshiped for having spared town from the plague by carrying a ram outside the city walls. Each year, 'the most handsome boy' would carry around a lamb which was then sacrificed to Hermes to keep the area free from disease, drought, and famine. This iconography might have given rise to Christianity's view of Jesus as 'the Good Shepherd' in John's gospel.

By RomanDeckert - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=87884012

Tyche is the Ancient Greek goddess of fortune, embodying the whims of fate, gradually eclipsing the Olympians as there was dramatic socio-political changes after Alexander the Great. She is one of the Oceanids, one of the three thousand daughters of Oceanus and Tethys, Titans who were the gods of the oceans and rivers, respectively, before the Olympians. She was thought to even be able to influence the plans of the gods and is frequently depicted with a gabernaculum (a ships rudder), a conucopia (horn of plenty), or the wheel of fortune, which she might be standing upon. She was syncretised with the Roman Fortuna, who held the same role.

By William Henry Goodyear - Brooklyn Museum, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=31143609

Plutus was the Ancient Greek god of wealth, son of Demeter, goddess of the harvest and agriculture, and the mortal Iasion, though he might be the son of Tyche, depending on the story. Depictions of him have him connected to a cornucopia, either standing with one before Demeter, or being within a cornucopia rising from the earth being handed to Demeter, implying he was born in the Underworld. In one story, he was blinded by Zeus so that he'd dispense wealth without prejudice. He is also lame, implying that he takes his time arriving, and winged, implying that he leaves quickly. In one fable, Heracles is received in Olympus and greets all of the gods except Plutus because he favors the wicked and the corrupt.

#gods of antiquity #fortune deities #heracles #tyche #plutus #hermes #ancient greek mythology