Fortuna Redux dupondius-Didius Julianus-RIC 0012

''Fortuna Redux'' was a form of the goddess

Fortuna Fortuna ( la, Fortūna, equivalent to the Greek goddess Tyche) is the goddess of fortune and the personification of luck in Roman religion who, largely thanks to the Late Antique author Boethius, remained popular through the Middle Ages until ...

in the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Medite ...

who oversaw a return, as from a long or perilous journey. Her attributes were Fortuna's typical

cornucopia In classical antiquity, the cornucopia (), from Latin ''cornu'' (horn) and ''copia'' (abundance), also called the horn of plenty, was a symbol of abundance and nourishment, commonly a large horn-shaped container overflowing with produce, flowers ...

, with her specific function represented by a

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (generally air or water). On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to counter adverse yaw a ...

steering oar The steering oar or steering board is an over-sized oar or board, to control the direction of a ship or other watercraft prior to the invention of the rudder. It is normally attached to the starboard Port and starboard are nautical ter ...

sometimes in conjunction with a globe.Carlos F. Noreña, ''Imperial Ideals in the Roman West: Representation, Circulation, Power'' (Cambridge University Press, 2011), p. 140.Lawrence Richardson, ''A New Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome'' (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1992), p. 157.

Origins

The

cult In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal ...

of Fortuna Redux was introduced to

Roman religion Religion in ancient Rome consisted of varying imperial and provincial religious practices, which were followed both by the people of Rome as well as those who were brought under its rule. The Romans thought of themselves as highly religious, ...

in 19 BC, creating a new holiday ''(

feriae In the liturgy of the Catholic Church, a feria is a day of the week other than Sunday. In more recent official liturgical texts in English, the term ''weekday'' is used instead of ''feria''. If the feast day of a saint falls on such a day, th ...

)'' on October 12 that originally marked the return of

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...

to Rome from Asia Minor in 19 BC. From that time, she received annual

sacrifices Sacrifice is the offering of material possessions or the lives of animals or humans to a deity as an act of propitiation or worship. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Greeks, and possibly exi ...

from the

pontiffs A pontiff (from Latin ''pontifex'') was, in Roman antiquity, a member of the most illustrious of the colleges of priests of the Roman religion, the College of Pontiffs."Pontifex". "Oxford English Dictionary", March 2007 The term "pontiff" was late ...

and

Vestals In ancient Rome, the Vestal Virgins or Vestals ( la, Vestālēs, singular ) were priestesses of Vesta, virgin goddess of Rome's sacred hearth and its flame. The Vestals were unlike any other public priesthood. They were chosen before puberty f ...

at an altar dedicated to her ''(Ara Fortunae Reducis)''. After the death of Augustus, the holiday was known as the

Augustalia The Augustalia, also known as the ''Ludi Augustales'' ("Augustan Games"), was a festival celebrated October 12 in honor of Augustus, the first Roman emperor. It was established in conjunction with an altar to Fortuna Redux to mark the return of A ...

, and was a major development in the complex of religious observances involving

Imperial cult An imperial cult is a form of state religion in which an emperor or a dynasty of emperors (or rulers of another title) are worshipped as demigods or deities. "Cult" here is used to mean "worship", not in the modern pejorative sense. The cult ma ...

Places of worship

The altar of Fortuna Redux was

inaugurated In government and politics, inauguration is the process of swearing a person into office and thus making that person the incumbent. Such an inauguration commonly occurs through a formal ceremony or special event, which may also include an inaug ...

on October 12, and dedicated on December 15. It was probably adjacent to the

Temple of Honor and Virtue The Temple of Honor and Virtue (Latin: ''Aedes Honoris et Virtutis'') was a temple in Regio I of ancient Rome dedicated to Virtus and Honos.

near the

Porta Capena Porta Capena was a gate in the Servian Wall in Rome, Italy. The gate was located in the area of Piazza di Porta Capena, where the Caelian, Palatine and Aventine hills meet. Probably its exact position was between the entrance of Via di Valle ...

. The altar is pictured on several coins, and appears to have been "relatively modest".

Domitian Domitian (; la, Domitianus; 24 October 51 – 18 September 96) was a Roman emperor who reigned from 81 to 96. The son of Vespasian and the younger brother of Titus, his two predecessors on the throne, he was the last member of the Flavi ...

built a temple for the goddess, following a triumphal return from war in Germany in 93 AD. The temple most likely stood on the slope of the

Capitoline Hill The Capitolium or Capitoline Hill ( ; it, Campidoglio ; la, Mons Capitolinus ), between the Forum and the Campus Martius, is one of the Seven Hills of Rome. The hill was earlier known as ''Mons Saturnius'', dedicated to the god Saturn. ...

overlooking the Porta Triumphalis. It has been identified with a temple on a panel depicting an arrival ceremony ''(

adventus Adventus is the Latin word for arrival, and may mean *Adventus (ceremony), the ceremony of an emperor's formal arrival at a city (usually, but not always, Rome) **Adventus (art), the artistic convention of depicting this ceremony *The Latin word fo ...

)'' on the

Arch of Marcus Aurelius The Arch of Marcus Aurelius ( ar, قوس ماركوس أوريليوس, Qaus Mārkūs Aurīliyūs) is a Roman triumphal arch in the city of Oea, modern Tripoli, Libya, where it is found near the northeastern entrance to the Medina. Characterist ...

. The pictured temple has symbols of Fortuna in the

pediment Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds. A pedim ...

, and a

tetrastyle A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...

and

prostyle Prostyle is an architectural term designating temples (especially Greek and Roman) featuring a row of columns on the front. The term is often used as an adjective when referring to the portico of a classical building, which projects from the ...

design of the Corinthian order. There is some possibility that it is the tetrastyle temple on a fragment of the Severan Marble Plan. Coins indicate that the cult statue was standing, and held the rudder and cornucopia that are her usual attributes.

Cult

Fortuna Redux was widely disseminated in the Western Empire as the

tutelary Tutelary may refer to: * Patron saint, or tutelary saint * Tutelary deity See also * Tutoring Tutoring is private academic support, usually provided by an expert teacher; someone with deep knowledge or defined expertise in a particular subject ...

of the emperor's safe return to the city when he traveled abroad, an event that reaffirmed Rome as the center of the Imperial world. In

Cirta Cirta, also known by various other names in antiquity, was the ancient Berber and Roman settlement which later became Constantine, Algeria. Cirta was the capital city of the Berber kingdom of Numidia; its strategically important port city ...

Numidia Numidia ( Berber: ''Inumiden''; 202–40 BC) was the ancient kingdom of the Numidians located in northwest Africa, initially comprising the territory that now makes up modern-day Algeria, but later expanding across what is today known as Tuni ...

, an inscription preserved a dedication to ''Fortuna Redux Augusta'' by a local official, with the epithet ''

Augusta Augusta may refer to: Places Australia * Augusta, Western Australia Brasil * Rua Augusta (São Paulo) Canada * Augusta, Ontario * North Augusta, Ontario * Augusta Street (Hamilton, Ontario) France * Augusta Suessionum ("Augusta of the Suessi ...

'' marking the goddess's relation to Imperial cult. She was the most common manifestation of Fortuna depicted on Imperial coins. In 211 AD, for instance, coinage with Fortuna Redux commemorated the return of

Caracalla Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (born Lucius Septimius Bassianus, 4 April 188 – 8 April 217), better known by his nickname "Caracalla" () was Roman emperor from 198 to 217. He was a member of the Severan dynasty, the elder son of Emperor ...

and

Geta Geta may refer to: Places *Geta (woreda), a woreda in Ethiopia's Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region *Geta, Åland, a municipality in Finland * Geta, Nepal, a town in Attariya Municipality, Kailali District, Seti Zone, Nepal *Get ...

from

Britannia Britannia () is the national personification of Britain as a helmeted female warrior holding a trident and shield. An image first used in classical antiquity, the Latin ''Britannia'' was the name variously applied to the British Isles, Gr ...

. She also appears on coins issued by

Septimius Severus Lucius Septimius Severus (; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211) was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna (present-day Al-Khums, Libya) in the Roman province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through the customary succ ...

Gallienus Publius Licinius Egnatius Gallienus (; c. 218 – September 268) was Roman emperor with his father Valerian from 253 to 260 and alone from 260 to 268. He ruled during the Crisis of the Third Century that nearly caused the collapse of the empi ...

, and other emperors. Although her cult was established as part of state religion in Rome, the goddess received personal devotion from individuals elsewhere in the Empire, as indicated by inscriptions in fulfillment of a vow ''(

votum In ancient Roman religion, a ''votum'', plural ''vota'', is a vow or promise made to a deity. The word comes from the past participle of the Latin verb ''voveo, vovere'', "vow, promise". As the result of this verbal action, a ''votum'' is also ...

)'' expressing gratitude for a safe return. An inscription from

Glanum Glanum (Hellenistic ''Γλανόν'', as well as Glano, Calum, Clano, Clanum, Glanu, Glano) was an ancient and wealthy city which still enjoys a magnificent setting below a gorge on the flanks of the Alpilles mountains. It is located about one kil ...

records a votive altar dedicated by a military veteran of the

Legio XXI Rapax Legio XXI Rapax ("Predator, Twenty-First Legion") was a legion of the Imperial Roman army. It was founded in 31 BC by the emperor Augustus (), probably from men previously enlisted in other legions. The XXI ''Rapax'' was destroyed in 92 by the ...

for Fortuna Redux along with the Celtic deities Glanis and the ''Glanicae''.

Related divinities

A form of

Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but slightly less than one-thousandt ...

was also cultivated with the

epithet An epithet (, ), also byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) known for accompanying or occurring in place of a name and having entered common usage. It has various shades of meaning when applied to seemingly real or fictitious people, di ...

''Redux''. Robert E.A. Palmer, "Silvanus, Sylvester, and the Chair of St. Peter," ''Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society'' 122 (1978), p. 234. The rudder and cornucopia appear as attributes likewise of the

syncretized Syncretism () is the practice of combining different beliefs and various schools of thought. Syncretism involves the merging or assimilation of several originally discrete traditions, especially in the theology and mythology of religion, thus ...

Isis-Fortuna.

References

{{Reflist, 30em Fortune goddesses Fortuna