Amalthea
nymphA nymph (or goat) who nursed the infant Zeus in a cave on Mount Ida in Crete.
The Myth
When Rhea hid the newborn Zeus from his father Kronos, she entrusted the baby to the care of Amalthea on Crete. In some tellings Amalthea was a goat, in others a nymph who kept a goat — the distinction blurred even in antiquity. What mattered was the milk that kept the young god alive and the secrecy that kept him hidden.
The young Zeus played roughly. One day he accidentally broke off one of Amalthea's horns. Feeling remorse, he blessed it so that it would perpetually overflow with food and drink — the original cornucopia, the horn of plenty. When Amalthea eventually died, Zeus honoured her further. He set her among the stars as the constellation Capra and stretched her hide across his shield, creating the fearsome aegis that would become his signature weapon in divine warfare.
From a simple act of nursing came two of mythology's most recognisable symbols: the cornucopia of abundance and the aegis of divine authority.
Parents
Uncertain; sometimes daughter of Haemonius
Children
None
Symbols
Fun Fact
Every Thanksgiving cornucopia traces back to the horn Zeus broke off Amalthea — the original horn of plenty.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth:
Explore Further
Zeus (Thunderer)
godThe supreme Olympian who rules gods and mortals from Mount Olympus, wielding the thunderbolt as...
Melissa
nymphA nymph who discovered honey and fed it to the infant Zeus, giving her name to the honeybee itself.
Kronos
titanKing of the Titans who ruled during the mythological Golden Age. Kronos overthrew his father...
Kronos (Golden Age King)
titanThe king of the Titans who ruled during the Golden Age and devoured his children to prevent...
Mount Olympus (Sacred)
placeThe highest mountain in Greece and mythological home of the twelve Olympian gods, whose...
Mount Parnassus
placeMount Parnassus was the mountain above Delphi sacred to Apollo and the Muses — the symbolic home of...
Rhea
titanMother of the Olympian gods and wife of Kronos. Rhea saved the infant Zeus from being devoured by...
Rhea (Mother of Gods)
titanThe great Titaness who saved Zeus from being swallowed by Kronos, enabling the entire Olympian...
Zeus
godSupreme ruler of the Olympian gods and lord of the sky. Zeus overthrew his father Kronos and...
Zeus (King)
godZeus was the king of the Olympian gods, ruler of the sky, wielder of the thunderbolt — the supreme...
Zeus Xenios
godAn epithet of Zeus as guardian of guests and the sacred law of hospitality (xenia), whose violation...
Crete
placeCrete was the largest Greek island and the seat of the Minoan civilisation, home to King Minos, the...