DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.15095#0065
PLATE XVIII.
Messene; there was also a temple belonging to her at Thebes in
Boeotia,(7) as well as in several other cities; and the decrees of the
Greeks were usually made in the name and under the sanction of
good Fortune.
It is remarkable, however, that notwithstanding the knowledge
which the Greeks had of this deity, her image never appears on any
of the more ancient Greek medals, and indeed of the numerous
figures of her now extant both in marble and bronze, not one
appears to be of high antiquity. It was not till the time of the
Roman Emperors that the worship of this goddess was universally
established. After this period one of the most common figures on
the Greek and Roman coins was that of Fortune; and as a proof
of the great ascendancy which she was believed by the Romans to
hold over the interests of mankind, no less than twenty-five temples
were erected to her at Rome
This statue was found by Mr. Gavin Hamilton near the Via
Latina, a short distance from Rome. The neck, and nearly the
whole of the modius is modern; and the head, though ancient, has
belonged to another figure. The right hand, and the whole of the
rudder, except a small portion which is attached to the globe, are
likewise modern, as is also the left hand and the lower part of the
cornucopia?.
Height, including the pedestal, 3 feet 1| inch.
' Pausan. Bceot. lib. ix. c. xvi.
Messene; there was also a temple belonging to her at Thebes in
Boeotia,(7) as well as in several other cities; and the decrees of the
Greeks were usually made in the name and under the sanction of
good Fortune.
It is remarkable, however, that notwithstanding the knowledge
which the Greeks had of this deity, her image never appears on any
of the more ancient Greek medals, and indeed of the numerous
figures of her now extant both in marble and bronze, not one
appears to be of high antiquity. It was not till the time of the
Roman Emperors that the worship of this goddess was universally
established. After this period one of the most common figures on
the Greek and Roman coins was that of Fortune; and as a proof
of the great ascendancy which she was believed by the Romans to
hold over the interests of mankind, no less than twenty-five temples
were erected to her at Rome
This statue was found by Mr. Gavin Hamilton near the Via
Latina, a short distance from Rome. The neck, and nearly the
whole of the modius is modern; and the head, though ancient, has
belonged to another figure. The right hand, and the whole of the
rudder, except a small portion which is attached to the globe, are
likewise modern, as is also the left hand and the lower part of the
cornucopia?.
Height, including the pedestal, 3 feet 1| inch.
' Pausan. Bceot. lib. ix. c. xvi.