Tyche: Calculating the Odds

     Tyche, the Greek goddess of chance, neatly represents and condenses the religious views of the Hellenistic world by building off of traditional Greek beliefs and flexibly combining with the gods of eastern Mediterranean regions. As a goddess, Tyche causes sudden changes in human affairs, resulting from her fortuitous good luck or disastrous disfavor. Generally, Greeks viewed Tyche’s interferences from a negative standpoint since whatever seemed granted for nothing could just as easily be taken away.

     Tyche refers specifically to the Hellenistic goddess that interacted at all possible levels of chance from minute to momentous. Tyche is one of the most popular forms of Fate in Greek and Hellenistic texts.The earliest mention of a Tyche-like god in Greek literature are Homer’s references to Fates. Initially, Fate begins as an impersonal force called “moira” while a negative, malignant force called “daim” represented evil misfortunes. Homer implies that destiny is inevitable despite any actions taken to avoid it. For example Odysseus was fated to return to Ithaca despite the long delay. Fate will occur regardless of tradition, social hierarchy, and seniority since its power lies outside man’s control. Despite this foundation, Homer never reveres moira or daim as gods. Eventually, these impersonal forces shifted into the Fates of Classical Greek mythology and exerted control over the Olympian gods. 

     After Homer but before the Classical Greek era, the definitions of Fate and Chance changed, although the differences were nearly indistinguishable. Aristotle failed to define clearly the distinctions between Tyche’s influence and simple accidents. A further hindrance in clarification is the absence of lowercase letters in ancient Greek. Thus, the meaning of the term, either the goddess or ordinary chance, was derived purely from context and was easily miscommunicated. As the extent of Tyche’s control over events grew through the religious shift, eventually even the Olympian gods became restricted to the hands of Fate. The increase of Tyche’s power decreased the common people’s respect for the Olympian gods’ intervention and control. Against the philosophical rational that characterizes the Greeks, Fate is irrational. Slowly, Greeks concluded that since the Olympian gods themselves had no control over their own inevitable fate, interacting with deities unable to assist or defend is unbeneficial.

      Tyche is regularly depicted in statues, and temples dedicated to her cult arose in nearly every large city of the Hellenistic world. In her arm is either a cornucopia or the babe Plutus to show Tyche’s control over and power to distribute wealth. In her other hand is a rudder to show her authority over destiny since she ultimately determines the outcome. She steers men through chaotic waters without any predictability, rewarding without cause and punishing without reason. Her feet rest on a sphere of water showing her roots of chaos, turbidity, and unpredictability. Her face is wrapped in cloth to hide her eyes and emphasize the randomness of her generous blessings and cursings. Tyche’s popularity remained mainly in larger cities since rural populations stayed more traditional to the Olympic and local gods, but the general populous could and did credit every twist in daily life to the turning of Tyche’s will. These beliefs continued for centuries.

     

     Major historic events became notorious for unpredictability, and impossible military victories testified to Tyche’s reigning strength. Specific examples include both Athens’ and Thebes’ rise to supreme power over the Greeks without any apparent reason. Subsequently, Fortune collapsed these cities glories just as quickly as they had risen. Tyche lifted them high for a time simply to smash the once glorious empires in one of her swiftly changing moods. Fortune is fickle. Historic writers attributed entire books to the whims of Fortune.

     With the broadening of Fate’s power and elimination of the gods’ intervening role, Tyche overtook the throne of Olympic gods. While the traditional Greek gods are not neglected, with the institution of many ruler cults and the popularity of adopted local gods, the traditional religion of the ancient Greeks lessened. While new temples to the traditional Olympian gods were not being built, old temples dedicated to the Olympian gods remained in use. As one historian noted, “Most English cathedrals pre-date the Reformation, but afterwards the predominate religious culture was still Christian.” This religious shift intensifies as Greeks move eastward during the Hellenistic Age, and the goddess of fate comes to embody every circumstance of significance. Tyche is praised for everything from the blessing of a child’s birth and celebration of an individual to the interactions of kingdoms as a whole.

     As the Greeks grew to accept a power that their lot in life was inconsequential of their actions, they accepted that the fall of their empires was not because of a failing of themselves but rather a necessary tide in the whim of Tyche's will. That could have caused them to cycle back to the acceptance of inescapable, unavoidable fate as exhibited in Homer's time but for the adoption of Tyche into other culture's that the Greeks influenced. The world is a large place full of potential, but regardless of the luck of each man's situation, it is for him to choose his course and beat back the fickle wishes of one seductive Lady of Fortune.

Luck be with you.
 __    
Agatha Tyche