The Tyche of Constantinople holding a wreath to crown Constantine (sardonyx cameo, 4th century)
The Tyche of Constantinople was the deity of fortune (Tyche) who embodied the guardianship (tutela) of the city of Constantinople in the Roman Imperial era. Malalas says that her name was Anthousa (Roman equivalent Flora).[1] Her attributes included the mural crown, cornucopia, a ship's prow,[2] and a spear.[3] She was depicted standing or seated on a throne.[4] As the personification of the city, Tyche or Anthousa could be abstracted from her origins as a Classical goddess, and like Victory made tolerable as a symbol for Christians.[5] Under Constantine, the Tychai of Rome and Constantinople together might be presented as personifications of the empire ruling the world.[6]
Tyche of Constantinople appears in two basic guises on coins and medallions. In one, she wears a helmet like Dea Roma. In the other, which was used for instance on silver medallions in 330 AD to commemorate Constantine's inauguration day, Tyche wears a crown of towers representing city walls, and sits on a throne with a ship's prow at her feet.[7]
The iconography of Tyche shared some attributes with Cybele, especially the wearing of the turreted or mural crown as a patron of cities. According to Zosimus, who appears not to have converted to Christianity, Constantine had one statue of Rhea-Cybele altered "through his disregard for religion, by taking away the lions on each side and changing the arrangement of the hands; for whereas previously she was apparently restraining lions, now she seemed to be praying and looking to the city as if guarding it." His intention seems to have been to render Cybele as the Tyche of Constantinople,[8] in keeping with a general adaptation of Imperial cult for the newly Christianized regime.[9]Proskynesis (prostration as submission to authority) was performed before emperors and symbols of imperial authority including the Tyche, and later before Christian symbols.[10]
One tradition held that Constantine had a cross inscribed on the Tyche of Constantinople near the Milion,[11] and that the emperor Julian, who opposed Christianity, rejected this manifestation of Tyche.[12] The Tyche of Constantinople continues to appear in art of the Eastern Roman Empire into the 6th century, among such examples as a consular diptych and jewelry ornaments.[13]
^Jonathan Bardill, Constantine, Divine Emperor of the Christian Golden Age (Cambridge University press, 2012), p. 252.
^Bardill, Constantine, Divine Emperor, p. xvi.
^Martin C. Ross, Catalogue of the Byzantine and Early Mediaeval Antiquities in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection: Jewelry, Enamels, and Art of the Migration Period (Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, 1965, 2005, 2nd ed.), vol. 2, p. 31.
^Bardill, Constantine, Divine Emperor, p. xvi.
^Bardill, Constantine, Divine Emperor, pp. 252, 262.
^Bardill, Constantine, Divine Emperor, p. 262.
^Bardill, Constantine, Divine Emperor, p. 262
^Bardill, Constantine, Divine Emperor, p. 262.
^Averil Cameron and Judith Herrin, Constantinople in the Early Eighth Century: The Parastaseis Syntomoi Chronikai (Brill, 1984), p. 36.
^Cameron and Herrin, Constantinople in the Early Eighth Century, p. 236.
^Bardill, Constantine, Divine Emperor, p. 315.
^Cameron and Herrin, Constantinople in the Early Eighth Century, p. 25.
^Ross, Catalogue of the Byzantine and Early Mediaeval Antiquities in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection, pp. 31–32, 61.
and 24 Related for: Tyche of Constantinople information
The TycheofConstantinople was the deity of fortune (Tyche) who embodied the guardianship (tutela) of the city ofConstantinople in the Roman Imperial...
mentions that the attributes of the TycheofConstantinople included a cornucopia. Tyche was still a figure in Constantinople was even depicted on coins...
capital settled at Constantinople in the reign of Arcadius (r. 383–408), the urban population also played a particular role. After the fall of the western Roman...
in Constantinopleof the Church of Saint Menas, the Church of Saint Agathonicus, the Church of Saint Michael at nearby Anaplous, and the Church of Hagios...
Nicomedia under the care of bishop Eusebius of Nicomedia until 340. At that point, Eusebius was made bishop ofConstantinople, which necessitated Gallus...
senatorial tribute, the aurum oblaticium, together with the TycheofConstantinople and of Rome, each wearing their corona muralis (east) and the co-emperors...
of Christos Palaskas (1788–1822) Anthousa, another name for the deity of fortune TycheofConstantinople Anthousa, the monastic name of the wife of Nicholas...
Empire of the 4th century, the Ludi Triumphales ("Triumphal Games") were games (ludi) held annually September 18–22 to commemorate the victory of Constantine...
the unity of church and state, as opposed to separation of church and state. He founded the city ofConstantinople and made it the capital of the Empire...
semi-legendary founder of Byzantium. Other sources mention a statue of the goddess Tyche, now lost. At any rate, it represents the oldest monument of the Roman era...
sets of horse trappings, with furniture fittings including 4 Tyche figures representing the 4 main cities of the Roman Empire: Rome, Constantinople, Antioch...
plinths are around 7 feet high, with cartouches of Greek text and stylised portrayals in high relief ofTyches, and the charioteer's factional supporters....
May 402. Eight temples, those of Aphrodite, Hecate, the Sun, Apollo, Kore (Persephone), Tyche (Tychaion), the shrine of a hero (Heroeion), and even the...
Vatican and a number of figurines and statuettes perpetuate the type of its great patron goddess and civic symbol, the Tyche (Fortune) of Antioch – a majestic...
had a statue of the goddess of fortune Tyche built, and a column made of porphyry, where he placed a golden statue of Apollo with the face of Constantine...
labarum on his right hand. The emperor is flanked by two Tyche figures, female personifications of a city's fortune. They are crowned with mural crowns and...
statue of the goddess of fortune Tyche built, as well as a column made of porphyry, at the top of which was a golden statue of Apollo with the face of Constantine...
crowned by the statues of Constantine and his mother Helena with a cross, looking towards the east, between them. A statue of the Tycheof the City stood behind...
associated with the cult ofTyche (luck, fortune), which grew in popularity during this period. The Hellenistic period saw the rise of New Comedy, the only...
fête byzantine connue essentiellement a Constantinople, Perpillou-Thomas, Francoise, Les Brumalia d'Apion II, Tyche–Beiträge zur Alten Geschichte, Papyrologie...
public servant and historian active in Constantinople and around the empire's provinces in the second half of the eleventh century. He was a younger contemporary...
precedent had to be sworn in the name or "fortune" (tyche) of the emperor: "I swear by Caesar Imperator, son of God, Zeus Eleutherios, Augustus".: 437 The official...
square ofConstantinople. The toupha was made of gilded bronze, with a design of peacock-feathers. It is known primarily from a life-drawing of the statue...
worship of traditional deities like the Phrygian mother goddess persisted. Greek cults attested to include Hermes, Kybele, the Muses and Tyche. Greek art...
Global Information