Tyche (Luck)
The goddess Tyche holding the infant god Pluto (detail). Istanbul, National Archaeological Museum. Attribution, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=884390
Reference page: Repertory of Cults and Myths
Origins of the myth
Tyche (identified with the Roman Fortuna) was a Greek deity, personification of luck, or at least of good luck. Tyche she is presented as the daughter of Teti and Oceanus (Hesiod, Theogony, 360) she was considered the protector of the city (with the title of "savior"). Tyche is represented with a turreted crown and sometimes blindfolded or blind.
Among her appellations, in addition to that of "savior", we have "good" and "great". Her attributes are generally auspicious, among these: the cornucopia, the ears of corn, the turreted crown and the rudder, as an omen for good navigation.
The myth of Tyche it is rather poor in elements; we learn about it not so much through written texts, but rather thanks to the name itself which means “fate”, “destiny”. In Hesiod (Theogony, 346 ff.), Tyche she is presented as the daughter of Teti and Oceano: she is therefore one of the Oceanines, the very ancient daughters (πρεσβύταται κουραί) of that distant pair of divinities. The first of these daughters exercised her power over the water of the sea, while the second over that of rivers.
The Myth in Sicily
In Sicily, there is not much news of the cult, except for the fact that a SIRACUSA, as Cicero himself recalls, the Tyche district owes its sound name to an ancient sanctuary (no longer existing at the time of Cicero) dedicated to her (Cicero, Verrine Lib. IV. 58).
Cicero in Verrine also speaks of a wooden statue dedicated to Good Fortune, like a statue not stolen from the private chapel of Elio in Messina (Cicero, Verrine Lib. IV.7). Obviously this is not enough to think that the cult of Tyche was also present in Messina.
Another indirect clue is linked to the story of Pindar (Olimpica 12) where it is said that Tyche was called to defend the city of Hymera.
Extract from the Book ” Cults of Ancient Sicily” by Ignazio Caloggero ISBN: 9788832060102 © 2022 Centro Studi Helios srl
