Tyche and Nemesis (Fortune and Nemesis).

Tyche (Fortune) and Nemesis

The wisdom and veracity of this myth, considering it’s thousands of years old, are incredible. The lessons it teaches are as applicable today as 3,000 years ago, which in itself tells us how little true wisdom we have gained across generations, how transcendent and eternal the nature of human psyche is. There are certain qualities in us that are impervious to development, cultivation or refinement, even with thousands of years of historical lessons written by history itself.

Here is a simple myth that exemplifies one of these stubborn human traits very clearly and compactly.

Tyche, the goddess of fortune and luck, bestows her gifts on humans randomly, blindly, and regardless of merit. Fortune is uncertain and driven by chance. This fact in itself is an interesting way the ancients thought about successful people, i.e., they knew that most of it was due to their luck in life. This thinking was an antidote to the meritocratic thinking of our era.

However, the ancients also knew the second half of the story, embodied by Nemesis, the goddess of justice and retribution. She is “correcting” the deeds of Tyche, reclaiming the gifts of wealth, health, and success from those who feel entitled and proud of their success, thinking that they alone earned it, attributing it only to their own nature and actions, becoming arrogant and proud, and elevating themselves above others.

The wisdom of the ancients reflects the unjust nature of life, the hubris of the “successful”, their inherent cognitive mistake of misattributing their luck and fortune to their personal virtues. Most importantly, it warns of the inevitable retribution for extreme arrogance, exaltation, self-aggrandizing and ingratitude

Another point that usually gets lost is the in-depth meaning of balance. Nothing is only this or that. Everything has two sides. Maintaining balance, not going to extremes, is most difficult.

Perhaps, the truth and wisdom lie in simply keeping both sides in view—not getting excessively excited about success, as well as not overly upset about hardships.

Wisdom consists in foreknowing the everlasting dialectical twists and turns of events, keeping in mind the whimsical nature of life, and not acting on the spur of the moment, but balancing it with a more long-term view, informed by the wisdom of untold ages.