Cornucopia
The horn of plenty, originally the horn of the goat Amaltheia who nursed the infant Zeus on Crete, symbolising inexhaustible abundance and nourishment.
The Meaning of Cornucopia
The cornucopia originated with Amaltheia, the goat who nursed the infant Zeus in a cave on Mount Ida in Crete, hidden from his father Cronus who devoured his children. When the young Zeus accidentally broke off one of Amaltheia's horns, he blessed it to produce unlimited food and drink for its possessor. In another tradition, Heracles broke off the horn of the river god Achelous during their wrestling match for the hand of Deianeira. The Naiads filled the broken horn with flowers and fruit, and it became sacred. The cornucopia was associated with Tyche, goddess of fortune, and with Plutus, the god of wealth. Demeter and Persephone were also depicted holding it, connecting abundance to the agricultural cycle and the changing seasons.
Parents
Amaltheia, Zeus
Symbols
Fun Fact
Every November, millions of Americans place a cornucopia centrepiece on their Thanksgiving table without knowing they're recreating a 3,000-year-old Greek myth about a baby god and a goat. The horn-shaped wicker basket overflowing with autumn produce is a direct descendant of the horn of Amaltheia that nursed Zeus on Crete.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth. See our full guide to English words from Greek mythology.
Explore Further
Cornucopia
💭 conceptLanguage and abundance
The horn of plenty, a symbol of endless abundance derived from the myth of the goat Amaltheia who nursed the infant Zeus, whose broken horn produced unlimited food and drink
Amalthea
🌿 nymphnurture, abundance
A nymph (or goat) who nursed the infant Zeus in a cave on Mount Ida in Crete.
Ops
⚡ godAbundance, harvest, earth
Roman goddess of abundance and the harvest, wife of Saturn, equivalent to the Greek Rhea
Plutus
🏔 titanagricultural wealth, abundance
The god of agricultural wealth and abundance, son of Demeter and Iasion, made blind by Zeus.
Euporie
⚡ godAbundance, passage
One of the lesser-known Horae whose name means good passage or abundance, associated with prosperity and ease of travel
Koros
💭 conceptethics, mythology
Satiety or excess — the dangerous state of having too much, which leads to hybris and then to ate and destruction in the Greek moral cycle.
Abduction of Persephone
💭 conceptNarrative
The seizing of Persephone by Hades and its consequences, which explain the origin of the seasons
Thalia
⚡ godFestivity and abundance
One of the three Graces, personification of festivity and rich abundance
Saturn
⚡ godTime, agriculture, abundance, dissolution
Ancient Roman god of agriculture and time, identified with the Greek Kronos, ruler of a lost golden age
Opis
🏔 titanHarvest, Abundance
A Titaness of plenty associated with the earth's bounty, later merged with the Roman goddess Ops who presided over agricultural wealth.
Goddess of Harvest
💭 conceptHarvest, agriculture, grain, fertility of the earth
Demeter controls the growth of crops and the fertility of the soil, and her grief governs the cycle of the seasons.
Fauna
💭 conceptLanguage and zoology
An English scientific term for the animal life of a region, derived from Faunus, the Roman god of the wild and forests who was identified with the Greek god Pan