FORTUNA was the Latin (and perhaps also the Sabine) goddess of the incalculable element in life. Her name is derived from the Latin word fors ("luck"). Cults dedicated to various manifestations of Fortuna existed throughout Latium—attes ted at Tusculum, Signia, Cora, Ostia, and especially at Praeneste—as well as in Rome and Antium. Etruscan civilization also included worshipers of Fortuna; the Etruscans placed a great deal of importance on the idea of fate.

In Rome, Fortuna did not belong to the oldest stratum of cults traditionally connected with King Numa Pompilius. She is one of the Sabine divinities listed by Varro in his De lingua Latina. King Servius Tullius considered Fortuna to be his special patron and friend; consequently, he built two of the oldest temples dedicated to her in Rome. One of these temples, in the Forum Boarium, was associated with the temple of Mater Matuta...