Women of the Wheel: Fortuna

Womanica

Acast Creative Studios

History, Society & Culture, Education

4.3 • 920 Ratings

🗓️ 4 September 2025

⏱️ 3 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Fortuna is the Roman goddess of fortune and luck. Often depicted holding a ship's rudder and wheel, she steers fate for better or worse. Her wheel of fortune became a well known literary symbol we still use to depict the ups and downs of luck today.

This month, we're talking about Women of the Wheel – icons who turned motion into momentum and spun their legacies on spokes, skates and potter's wheels. These women harnessed the power of the axle, pushing their crafts and professions forward through their works and lives.

History classes can get a bad rap, and sometimes for good reason. When we were students, we couldn't help wondering... where were all the ladies at? Why were so many incredible stories missing from the typical curriculum? Enter, Womanica. On this Wonder Media Network podcast we explore the lives of inspiring women in history you may not know about, but definitely should.

Every weekday, listeners explore the trials, tragedies, and triumphs of groundbreaking women throughout history who have dramatically shaped the world around us. In each 5 minute episode, we'll dive into the story behind one woman listeners may or may not know–but definitely should. These diverse women from across space and time are grouped into easily accessible and engaging monthly themes like Educators, Villains, Indigenous Storytellers, Activists, and many more. Womanica is hosted by WMN co-founder and award-winning journalist Jenny Kaplan. The bite-sized episodes pack painstakingly researched content into fun, entertaining, and addictive daily adventures.

Womanica was created by Liz Kaplan and Jenny Kaplan, executive produced by Jenny Kaplan, and produced by Grace Lynch, Maddy Foley, Brittany Martinez, Edie Allard, Carmen Borca-Carrillo, Taylor Williamson, Sara Schleede, Paloma Moreno Jimenez, Luci Jones, Abbey Delk, Adrien Behn, Alyia Yates, Vanessa Handy, Melia Agudelo, and Joia Putnoi. Special thanks to Shira Atkins.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	This is an I-Heart podcast.
0:06.0	Hello, from Wonder Media Network, I'm Jenny Kaplan, and this is Womanica.
0:11.0	This month, we're talking about women of the wheel, icons who turned motion into momentum
0:15.7	and spun their legacies on spokes, skates, and potter's wheels.
0:20.0	These women harness the power of the axle,
0:22.4	pushing their crafts and professions forward
0:24.3	through their works and lives.
0:26.9	See the Wheel of Fortune spin
0:28.8	and watch for where this fickle goddess
0:30.6	decides where your future lands.
0:33.2	Today we're talking about the Roman goddess
0:35.0	of fortune, fate, and luck.
0:37.1	Let's talk about Fortuna.
0:42.1	Fortuna has been venerated from antiquity to modern civilization.
0:46.6	She's often depicted atopal, holding a cornucopia in a ship's rudder or wheel.
0:52.8	Her cornucopia, or horn of plenty plenty is where good things flow in abundance,
0:57.4	representing her ability to grant prosperity. Her ship's rudder indicates her ability to steer the
1:03.4	fates of those who worship her. In some instances, Fortuna is depicted as blind,
1:08.7	symbolizing that good luck does not always come to those who seem to deserve it. Fortuna is depicted as blind, symbolizing that good luck does not always come to those who seem to
1:11.7	it.
1:13.5	Fortuna is often depicted with a bit of an edge to her.
1:16.7	She can be a deceptive and capricious goddess, playing with the destinies of her subjects.
	...

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