Ah Lady luck… when she shines down upon you your life becomes so easy, joyous in fact, but once she takes her gaze away the storm clouds roll in and the pathways before you become treacherous and rocky…

The Greek goddess of luck, fortune and chance is Tyche (later known as the Roman Goddess Fortuna). As we all well know, luck comes in good, bad, and every shade between. Luck is a never-ending cycle and a fickle master; while you may be at the top, at any given moment you can easily fall back towards the bottom. Tyche’s multi-faceted nature is demonstrated by some of the iconography associated with her which represents this concept of constant change. Sometimes Tyche is seen with a ball, an unsteady object that can roll in any direction just like our luck can change at any moment. Her Roman incarnation Fortuna favoured a wheel, but it serves the same idea of constant change and has become an increasingly populist image associated with the concept of Fortune. We see this idea in the television game show Wheel of Fortune, which has dominated its category ratings since the 1950’s, and the concept of a spinning wheel of luck is a common sight at casinos, fairgrounds, and on those pesky discount website pop-ups.

While the contemporary concept of Lady Luck has relegated the Goddess Tyche to a more abstract idea, she was once a powerful force in ancient Greece. She was the patron Goddess of many cities, demonstrated in iconography with a crown depicting city walls worn upon her head. Tyche was also often shown holding the cornucopia or baby Plutus, showing her connection with wealth and abundance.

Most importantly, Tyche was often depicted holding a rudder. Like the rudder of a ship Tyche could steer one’s life by the amount of fortune she bestowed, and for that she was often closely associated with The Fates.

We have previously argued that three goddesses, The Fates (or Moirai) were one of the most powerful forces in ancient Greece, potentially holding more power than Zeus himself. But the poet Pindar goes a step further, suggesting that Tyche was even more formidable than these women, sometimes thought to be her sisters:

“I am in general agreement with Pindar’s ode, and especially with his making Tykhe one of the Moirai, and more powerful than her sisters.”

Pausanias, Description of Greece 7. 26. 8

The idea the Tyche potentially held greater power is a valid argument; The Fates set our life paths when humans are born, while Tyche has infinitely more flexibility. Her role in fate is not set in stone; her rudder allows her to change the course of life at any moment, so perhaps she is the one we should be directing our prayers towards in times of need. But more importantly, we should always remember to pay our respects to Tyche in our moments of good fortune too, a fact which the fable, “The Farmer and the Goddess Fortune” attributed to Aesop reminds us:

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 and drove his oxen off to better pastures. He immediately built an altar to the earth goddess Tellus, worshipping her for having happily bestowed on him the wealth that had been buried inside her. While the farmer was rejoicing in his new circumstances, the goddess Fortuna was indignant that he had not considered her equally worthy of incense and offerings. She thus appeared to the man and gave him this warning about the future: ‘Instead of making an offering of your new-found wealth in my temple, you are sharing it with all the other gods. Yet when your gold is stolen and you are stricken with grief, then you will turn to me first of all in your despair and deprivation!

Aesop, Fables #469, Trans Laura Gibb

Aesop’s fable is a great reminder that we should always practice gratitude in our lives. All too often we only remember to acknowledge the forces that shape our lives when times are tough, and we forget to be mindful when our luck is flowing freely. Tyche is a great reminder that perhaps changing our mindset to one of gratitude might keep our good fortune steering in the right direction for longer.