Preparation and randomness: the political characteristics of the goddesses Fortuna and Nike reflected in the art of the streets of Brussels

Abstract

This paper aims to demonstrate the presence of a political virtue (plannings, strategy) in contrast with the political ignorance of trusting in aleatory (to make it simple, just luck). However, united by history, we are going to do that through the lens of two goddess (Niké and Fortune) and their artistic representations in the city of Brussels. In order to do that, we present some emblematic places of Brussels where the fight between these two goddesses became a perfect metaphor for the debates around their characteristics in the political scenario. Combining these statues and the political qualities of the goddesses with Brussels’ history of invasions, urban planning and changing of powers. In order to allude to this debate in the tradition of philosophy, we briefly mention some philosophers as Maquiavel, and Seneca. In this cases, we observe how the goddesses’ statues dialogue with virtues that these two philosophers reflected upon. For instance, Maquiavel gives to the prince a recommendations to accept, but to do not trust in the gifts of the goddess Fortune. The prince, if he wants to keep its power, should look for planning, order, knowledge. We conclude by saying that Brussels learned its lessons after some invasions and defeats, as the Nine Years’s war, and the city exhibits these marks thorough to honours to the goddess of victory Niké.