Tyche

A ball rises and falls in Tyche’s hands as she runs about juggling it. The movement represents the uncertainty of chance. She decides the fortune of each mortal, giving some gifts from a horn of plenty and depriving others of everything they possess. Her awards are altogether irresponsible. A person who succeeds through an unpredictable lucky hit may be regarded as a protégé of Saving Tyche, Soteira Tycha.

Tyche is a daughter of Zeus, who gave her power over mortal fortune. She has no independent myth in which she acts as the main figure. She appears in the myths and religious ideas surrounding other gods and humans, as the force that raises some and casts others down. In Euripides, she is questioned as a power greater than the other gods. She then takes on the character of the Great Goddess who rules over all life. In Hellenistic times, she becomes a city goddess in many places. The most famous example is the Tyche of Antioch.