Fortuna ~ Goddess of Luck, Fortune & Fate

Fortuna, in Roman religion, goddess of chance or lot; the original Italian deity was probably regarded as the bearer of prosperity and increase. As such she resembles a fertility deity. Frequently she was an oracular goddess consulted in various ways regarding the future

Fortuna was worshiped extensively in Italy from the earliest times. Fortuna is often represented bearing a rudder as controller of destinies, or standing on a ball to indicate the uncertainty of fortune.

The ubiquitous image of the Wheel of Fortune found throughout the Middle Ages and beyond was a direct legacy of Fortuna. The Wheel appears in many renditions from tiny miniatures in manuscripts to huge stained glass windows in cathedrals.

Fortuna also appears in Machiavelli's The Prince, where Machiavelli reminds the reader that Fortune is a woman, that she favours a strong, ambitious hand, and that she favours the more aggressive and bold young man than a timid elder.