TYCHE The rapid rise to prominence of Thyche, the Goddess of chance, in the course of the 4th century presents us with an unmistakable indication of a change in religious thought brought about by the social changes of the times. The collapse of Democracy in Athens necessarily caused some effect upon the society of the city state and this change is clearly indicated in the turning away from the rationality of the olympian Gods and adoption of the irrationalities of chance.   First mentioned by Pindar in the 5th century, Pindar Hymn Fragment # 39 [=Paus.4.30.6], Tyche was a semi divine and marginal, irrational element in ancient Greek religion who represented what we would call luck and the ancient Romans called, Buona Fortuna. It was not until the mid fourth century that Tyche began to assume prominence. By the end of that century temples began to appear and public sacrifices were offered to her as a Goddess. The irrational had become a more significant part of Greek society.   It should be noted that the irrational was always an important element in Greek religion. As Camille Paglia is so fond of pointing out, Dionysus was created to express the irrationality which Apollo, the God of reason, could not. It is rather that an emphasis upon this aspect of religion came significantly to the fore amidst the social and governmental changes of the time. The Athenians, no longer trusting in the good will of their Gods, are left to their own devices and can only hope for good luck.   The Gods of Greece had for hundreds of years been becoming more and more remote. The philosophers had, years ago, relegated them to the dust bin. In a time when impiety was still a capitol offence, they found various ways around the problem, but advanced thought of the day one way or another, got the Gods neatly out of the way. Epicurus, I always thought to save his skin, said OK, OK, sure there are Gods plenty of them, all you want, only they live far away and don't pay the slightest attention to mankind. Voila! He has in one fell swoop rid us of Gods and removed himself from the charge of impiety. Without the help of the Gods we're going to need some luck and here, right on cue, Tyche steps onto the stage.   There has been much discussion about the effect of the deification of leaders upon religion. With every king getting turned into a living God, the position of God must suffer some dilution. Certainly some cynicism must creep into the mind of the most casual observer, first about the immortality of kings, and then about Gods, themselves. This must be taken into account when attempting to understand the changes in religious thought which are so obviously occurring.   It should be remembered here that we are speaking of the urban intelligentsia. The shepherd up in the hills of Locris is little effected by the entire discussion. We, unfortunately know only one part of the culture of Greece and that has skewed our perceptions throughout the years.   This collapse of religious belief was not sudden. Changes in emphasis came quickly, but the forms of Greek paganism remained as a social, sine qua non, past the time of Constantine, long after the fall of effective democracy. The Athenians continued the round of annual rituals and sacrifices, they continued the forms of their religion, just as they continued the forms of their democracy, long past the time of any true meaning. They acted out their roles as they perceived them all the while, trusting to luck, Tyche.                 .