The Goddess Fortuna in Imperial Rome: Cult, Art - Repository Home

424 Pages·2002·1.25 MB·English

by  Cesare Bramante

Copyright
by
Darius Andre Arya
2002
The Dissertation Committee for Darius Andre Arya Certifies that this is the
approved version of the following dissertation:

THE GODDESS FORTUNA IN IMPERIAL ROME:
CULT, ART, TEXT

Committee:

Karl Galinsky, Supervisor
L. Michael White
Andrew Riggsby
Ann Kuttner
Erika Simon
The Goddess Fortuna in Imperial Rome:
Cult, Art, Text

by
Darius Andre Arya, B.A., M.A.

Dissertation
Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of
The University of Texas at Austin
in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements
for the Degree of

Doctor of Philosophy

The University of Texas at Austin
August 2002
Dedication

For Silvia and Emilia.
Acknowledgements

This study of Fortuna in the imperial period (up to the Severan dynasty) presents
many aspects of the goddess through an examination of the material culture of Rome,
which includes the results of the Romans’ social-political, religious, artistic, architectural,
and literary endeavors. I have not presented a catalogue, but, rather, I have attempted to
underline the multivalent personality of Fortuna through some key, revealing examples of
cult, art, architecture, and literature. Throughout, I argue that Fortuna is rich in meaning,
acquiring new significance during the imperial period (largely through new iconography
and new cults and cultic associations, related to the emperor and imperial cult), inherently
an uncertain rather than a benevolent one, and distinguished from, though related to
Tyche.
I began work on the topic at the end of 1997. I had the opportunity to explore the
issues of Fortuna cults on site in Italy, through a Fulbright Fellowship (1998-1999) and a
Lewis B. Cullman Rome Prize Fellowship at the American Academy (1999-2000). I
would like to thank the Academy and its staff, especially the Mellon Professor in Charge
of Classics, Archer Martin, for their support during my stay. Another year at UT,
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followed by a UT University Fellowship (2001-2002), allowed me to finish my
dissertation sooner than later, though never soon enough!
I would like to extend my thanks to many scholars for their time, including N.
Agnoli, T. Bakker, M. Bruno, A. Carandini, A. Claridge, J. Clarke, C. del Monti, D.
Conlin, E. Fentress, L. Fabbrini, D. Filippi, S. Gatti, P. Green, L. Haselberger, A. La
Regina, E. La Rocca, P. Liverani, M. Miles, P. Moreno, E. Orlin, P. Pensabene, N.
Purcell, B. Robinson, R. T. Scott, J. Sheppard, A. Small, B. Spaeth, J. Spurza, A. Stewart,
and S. Tuck.
I would also like to single out the members of my committee. First, Michael
White, who directed me to the Fortuna topic in the first place. His understanding of the
depth of the issues and his initial suggestions sustained my interest in the topic over the
years. It has been a pleasure working with him, and I hope to continue to discuss and
collaborate with him on many more topics of ancient culture and religion.
I thank Andrew Riggsby for his time and suggestions during the process. Ann
Kuttner, whom I met during my days at Penn, continually provided her time and patience,
directing me on many of the art historical aspects, and giving me access to her wealth of
bibliographic knowledge. It has been a profitable, and enjoyable correspondence! Erika
Simon allowed me to partake of her vast, if not legendary, experience in the field. I
would like to thank her for her ceaseless encouragement.
None of this could have been possible without the guidance of my supervisor,
Karl Galinsky. I am indebted to him for all of his tutelage, insights, and patience. From
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the moment I arrived in Texas, this fellow DKE brother extended his support, direction,
and, most of all, friendship. I look forward to continuing this relationship in the new
chapter of my life, always making haste slowly!
To my parents, thank you for helping me see this through, with all of the
opportunities you let me pursue over the years and conversations that we have had.
Finally, another doctor in the family!
To Silvia, to whom I dedicate this book, along with our precious, five-month-old
Emilia Rose, I bet that you are more satisfied with this finished work than I am, as you
have sustained me in every imaginable way in this long study, as well as every other
aspect in our lives together.

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The Goddess Fortuna in Imperial Rome:
Cult, Art, Text

Publication No._____________

Darius Andre Arya, Ph.D.
The University of Texas at Austin, 2002

Supervisor: Karl Galinsky

Fortuna in imperial Rome was a complex, multivalent deity, venerated with
particular fervency during the first and second centuries CE. This study presents an
examination of the continual evolution of the cult and image of goddess in case studies
from cult settings, artistic depictions, and literary descriptions, revealing the multiple
meanings that she conveyed to Romans and Greeks during the imperial period.
Fortuna’s evolving character was due to a variety of political, religious, social
exigencies. Romans considered her a single, universalized deity and qualified her with
over ninety epithets, according to different settings and needs. However, despite
Fortuna’s strong rapport with Tyche, the modern term “Tyche-Fortuna” has only served
to obscure the persona of Fortuna because it has been interpreted variously in religious,
art historical, and literary studies; Fortuna did not simply become Tyche in the imperial
period. In the first chapter, two studies of Tyche statues demonstrate that the Romans
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influenced the image of Tyche as much as the Greeks influenced that of Fortuna.
Fortuna’s image continued to change during the imperial period. For example, Fortuna
statuary received new iconographical features in a Roman setting, including a rudder
resting on a globe and a rudder resting on a wheel, reflecting her novel role as guarantor
of the empire and the emperor.
The background of Fortuna in Rome included shrines and temples dedicated to
the goddess from Rome’s primordial past, as well as features adopted and adapted from
the cult of Tyche during the Republican period. The second and first centuries BCE
witnessed the transformation of Fortuna from national deity to personal patron of various
Roman generals, from Catulus to Julius Caesar.
A new development in the cult of Fortuna took place under Augustus. In the
Campus Martius, the figure of Fortuna figures prominently in a number of Augustan
buildings, in particular, the Pantheon that was modeled, in part, after the Tychaion in
Alexandria.
Most explicitly, the role of Fortuna in Augustan Rome became focused on the
cults of Fortuna Redux and Fortuna Augusta, directly tied to the persona of the emperor
as kingmaker and guarantor of dynastic succession.
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Table of Contents
Chapter 1: An Introduction to Fortuna in Imperial Rome– Cult, Art, Text.
Two case studies of Tyche in the imperial period and general
background.....................................................................................................1
Tyche between Greece and Rome..................................................................2
Description of the head of a statue of Tyche found in Sparta...............2
Identification of the statue head............................................................5
Identification of the figures on the mural crown...................................8
Reason for the commission of the statue and its original setting........12
The Tyche of Antioch and the influence of imperial Rome.........................21
The statue: description........................................................................21
Original setting....................................................................................24
Palm versus wheat attribute.................................................................29
The statue during the late Republican and imperial periods...............31
A brief review of Tyche and Fortuna...........................................................36
Tyche in the Greek world....................................................................37
Fortuna in Italy....................................................................................39
Scope of the study........................................................................................42
Chapter Two........................................................................................45
Chapter Three......................................................................................47
Chapter Four........................................................................................48
Chapter Five........................................................................................49
Chapter 2: The interrelationship between the cult, imagery, and textual
accounts of Fortuna: why the category “Tyche-Fortuna” fails....................52
Studies of Fortuna: cult, art, text..................................................................52
Terminology: “Tyche-Fortuna”....................................................................53
The cult of Fortuna.......................................................................................54
Previous modern accounts of Fortuna: localized, benevolent deity....56
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