I. Name
Fortuna is the Roman personification of good luck and success (from fero, ‘to bring’; fors, ‘chance’, ‘luck’), which is also expressed in the anthroponym Fortunatus, a popular Latin name, especially during the Hellenistic period. It occurs but once, however, in the Bible (1 Cor. 16.17).
II. Identity
Fortuna’s character, despite her Latin name, may have originated with the well-known and well-developed Etruscan notion of fate (Kajanto 1981:506–509). Her oldest cult site may have been Praen…