Though not religious, the Stoics were fascinated by the Roman goddess of fortune, known as Fortuna, whom they took to be the perfect metaphor for destiny. Fortuna, who had shrines to her all over the empire, was popularly held to control the fate of humans, and was judged to be a terrifying mixture of the generous and the randomly wilful and spiteful. She was no meritocrat. She was represented holding a cornucopia filled with goodies (money, love, etc.) in one hand, and a tiller, for changing the course of life, in the other. Depending on her mood, she might throw you down a perfect job or a
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