Nancy Jardine Author: #A2ZChallenge F is for Fortuna!

F is for Fortuna

Theme: Ancient Roman Scotland during the Flavian era

The name Fortuna is derived from the Latin word fortuna meaning chance, fortune, good luck, success - misfortune, circumstances, lot, possessions. Fortunatus used as an adjective means happy, lucky, well off, rich, blessed.

Fortuna by Salvator Rosa
Wikimedia Commons

Like many other ancient Roman goddesses, Fortuna had many attributes. The first born child of Jupiter, she was revered for being the overseer of chance, luck (good and bad) and fate. It wasn’t just as simple as that, of course, in Ancient Rome. Religion permeated every facet of one’s life whether the person was a Roman citizen of high stature, or a lowly slave. Temples and altars were to be found on virtually every street corner in Ancient Rome, and many of these would have been erected in honour of Fortuna.

Everything a person did in the duration of a day was peppered by religious reflections on which gods or goddesses were steering the outcome. Credit, or otherwise, was regularly given over what was interpreted as the intervention of the gods and goddesses.

Fortuna’s name ‘day’ is June 11 but the festival of Fors Fortuna fell on June 24, the traditional Solstitium, the summer solstice. It was a raucous and joyous festival well attended by followers who flocked to her temples on foot, or by boat along the Tiber, bedecked with garlands of flowers. The feasts involved the drinking of much wine as offerings were made to her. During the Fors Fortuna people indulged in gambling in games of chance. Major shrines were at Praeneste and Antium.

Temple of Fortuna Virilis/ Portunus - Wikimedia Commons

The Temple of Fortuna Virilis (also called the Temple of Portunus) is in the Forum Boarium, the cattle market of Ancient Rome, the festival of Fortuna Virilis celebrated on April 1st. It’s one of the most well-preserved temples of Rome but it’s a bit of a mystery. Fortuna Virilis translates as “manly fortune”, yet it’s thought that the temple was dedicated to women. Women celebrated Fortuna Virilis who helped them conceive and Fortuna Primigenia (the first mother) who aided pregnant women to successful childbirth.

Like many other buildings the Temple of Fortuna Virilis is in reasonable condition today because it was deconsecrated (from the Ancient Roman pagan religions) and converted into a Christian church. This temple was known as Temple of Fortuna Virilis from the renaissance period, but if it was originally a temple to Portunus that in many ways makes more sense. Farmers paid obeisance to Fortuna Annonaria who helped them with the rebirth of the land, new crops being successful if the goddess favoured them…or in times of poor weather, or climactic change she was not favouring them. However, Portunus was the god of keys; doors; livestock and ports. Granaries may also have come under his jurisdiction, grain being an incredibly important resource for the staple diet of virtually all people living in Rome. Since the temple location of Fortuna Virilis, or Portunus, was near the site of the original Port Tiberinus (earliest port of Rome at the foot of the Capitol hill), Portunus was said to overlook the cattle barges coming up the River Tiber from Ostia (some 20 miles from the city of Rome), these barges pulled along by oxen – or slaves – on the riverbanks. The original temple of 4th to 3rd century B.C. on the site at the Forum Boarium was replaced by the present one around 120-80 B.C .

This site has loads of information on the ports of Rome.

https://www.romanports.org/en/articles/ports-in-focus/181-portus-rome-s-imperial-port.html

Fortuna - Albrecht Durer
Wikimedia Commons

Luck was seen differently from today since Fortuna could set a person on one course which might have a good, or a bad outcome. Being an oracular goddess, who was consulted about future events, must have meant after a consultation people conducted themselves in a way that was geared towards their desired outcome. If the prophecy did not come to fruition, then I’m sure the person would have been thinking that Fortuna had been misleading them, the goddess’s fickle nature to blame for a poorer than expected outcome.

Fortuna Dubia (dubious fortune); Fortuna Brevis (fickle fortune); and Fortuna Mala (bad fortune) are somewhat negative attributes of the goddess.

Ancient writers like Plutarch attributed the fortunes of Rome in general as being a result of the favour, or otherwise, of goddesses like Fortuna and Felicitas rather than the diplomacy, skills and intelligence of those ruling at a particular time. No matter how clever, hard working or diligent it was Fortuna who made things turn out the way they did.

Fortuna was an extremely popular goddess in ancient times, well loved by the masses whose daily pleas were to Fortuna to lift them out of their pitiful status. Her popularity was probably very variable since she was also the goddess of gambling. Gambling was a very popular pastime of the Ancient Romans so no doubt, Fortuna was a very busy goddess!

When Fortuna spun the wheel of fortune, no one knew what was going to happen!

I expect that the people of Rome wanted to be associated more with the street named Bona Fortuna rather than the one named Mala Fortuna, both streets mentioned in ancient literature.

Fortuna Bon -Wikimedia Commons

There was also Fortuna Bon meaning good luck and Fortuna was often depicted as carrying a cornucopia, a horn of plenty that was dispensed freely with no limitation. This form for Fortuna was very popular in artwork from the earliest times. She might also have her hand on a rudder to show her control of destiny and she is often depicted standing on a ball as a reminder of how easily fortunes can change. Some artists depicted her as wearing a blindfold to represent ‘blind luck’. Many of the Ancient Romans writers wrote of her as blind, inconstant, unjust, and delighting in mischief.

This leads me back to my theme of Ancient Roman Scotland during the Flavian era. How much evidence do we have of Fortuna as being a goddess worshipped by the Ancient Roman legions who invaded

Scotland

? Not very much, but Fortuna was known to be one of the popular goddesses worshipped by the legions because they, naturally, wanted a successful outcome to any military campaign. On a more personal level, if Fortuna was favouring an individual then he was more likely to survive any battle or skirmish with the native enemy.

Altar to Fortuna- Wikimedia Commons

Evidence of Fortuna worship has been found as far north as Castlecary (North Lanarkshire) in

Scotland

. Various objects were discovered at the sizeable fort at Castlecary, one of the forts along the Antonine Wall which probably housed 2 cohorts of men i.e. about 1000. Though the remains found in the area may be of Antonine origin, there was a Flavian temporary marching camp on the site from around A.D. 80.

An altar to Fortuna was found at Castlecary in 1769, and a statuette to Fortuna was discovered in the same location in 1771. They are now in the Hunterian Museum in Glasgow.

My character, Agricola, in Agricola’s Bane pays plenty of attention to the goddess Fortuna because he really does not think she is playing fair with him as he works through the situation he finds himself in after the battle between the Caledon allies at Beinn na Ciche ( my version of Mons Graupius).

Tomorrow, since it’s Sunday, I’ll post an extract where Agricola ponders whether Fortuna is favouring him.