Editing Cornucopia

{{short description|Mythological symbol of abundance, also called the horn of plenty}}
{{Other uses}}
[[File:Detail. Cornucopia. Marble statue of deified empress Livia, holding a cornucopia, 42-52 CE. Acquired in 1842 CE in Theatre of Falerii, Italy. Altes Museum, Berlin, Germany.jpg|thumb|upright|Cornucopia of a Roman statue of [[Livia]] as [[Fortuna]], 42-52 AD, marble, [[Altes Museum]], [[Berlin]] ]]

In [[classical antiquity]], the '''cornucopia''' ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|k|ɔːr|n|(|j|)|ə|ˈ|k|oʊ|p|i|ə|,_|-|n|(|j|)|uː|-|audio=LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-Cornucopia.wav}}; {{etymology|la|{{wikt-lang|la|cornu}}|horn||{{wikt-lang|la|copia}}|abundance}}), also called the '''horn of plenty''', was a [[symbol]] of abundance and [[nutrition|nourishment]], commonly a large [[horn (anatomy)|horn]]-shaped [[container]] overflowing with [[produce]], flowers, or [[nut (fruit)|nuts]]. In [[Ancient Greek|Greek]], it was called the "[[Amalthea (mythology)#Horn of Amalthea|horn of Amalthea]]" ({{langx|grc|κέρας Ἀμαλθείας|kéras Amaltheías}}),<ref>Pearson, [https://books.google.com/books?id=R1qaCxoc90UC&pg=PA60 p. 60].</ref> after [[Amalthea (mythology)|Amalthea]], a nurse of [[Zeus]], who is often part of stories of the horn's origin.

[[Basket]]s or [[pannier]]s of this form were traditionally used in [[West Asia|western Asia]] and Europe to hold and carry newly [[harvest]]ed food products. The horn-shaped basket would be worn on the back or slung around the torso, leaving the harvester's hands free for picking.

==In Greek/Roman mythology==

[[File:Berenice cornucopia gold Collection of J. Demetriou.jpg|thumb|left|Cornucopia at the center of a coin of [[Berenice II of Egypt]]; the Greek inscription reads ΒΑΣΙΛΙΣΣΗΣ ΒΕΡΕΝΙΚΗΣ, "of Queen Berenice".]]

[[Mythology]] offers multiple [[aition|explanations of the origin]] of the cornucopia. One of the best-known involves the birth and nurturance of the infant [[Zeus]], who had to be hidden from his devouring father [[Cronus]]. In a cave on [[Mount Ida]] on the island of [[Crete]], baby Zeus was cared for and protected by a number of divine attendants, including the goat [[Amalthea (mythology)|Amalthea]] ("Nourishing Goddess"), who fed him with her milk. The suckling future king of the gods had unusual abilities and strength, and in playing with his nursemaid accidentally broke off one of her [[horn (anatomy)|horn]]s, which then had the divine power to provide unending nourishment, as the foster mother had to the god.<ref>David Leeming, ''The Oxford Companion to World Mythology'' (Oxford University Press, 2005), p. 13; Robert Parker, ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=F_ATDAAAQBAJ&q=cornucopia Polytheism and Society at Athens]'' (Oxford University Press, 2005), p. 422.</ref>

In another myth, the cornucopia was created when [[Heracles]] (Roman [[Hercules]]) wrestled with the river god [[Achelous]] and ripped off one of his horns; river gods were sometimes depicted as horned.<ref>[[Ovid]], ''[[Metamorphoses]]'' 9.87–88, as cited by J. Rufus Fears, "The Cult of Virtues and Roman Imperial Ideology," ''Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt'' II.17.2 (1981), p. 821.</ref> This version is represented in the ''[[Achelous and Hercules]]'' [[mural painting]] by the [[Regionalism (art)|American Regionalist]] artist [[Thomas Hart Benton (painter)|Thomas Hart Benton]].

The cornucopia became the attribute of several [[List of Greek deities|Greek]] and [[List of Roman deities|Roman deities]], particularly those associated with the harvest, prosperity, or spiritual abundance, such as personifications of Earth ([[Gaia (mythology)|Gaia]] or [[Terra (mythology)|Terra]]); the child [[Plutus]], god of riches and son of the grain goddess [[Demeter]]; the [[nymph]] [[Maia (mythology)|Maia]]; and [[Fortuna]], the goddess of luck, who had the power to grant prosperity. In [[Imperial cult (ancient Rome)|Roman Imperial cult]], abstract Roman deities who fostered peace ''([[pax Romana]])'' and prosperity were also depicted with a cornucopia, including [[Abundantia]], "Abundance" personified, and [[Annona (goddess)|Annona]], goddess of the [[grain supply to the city of Rome]]. [[Hades]], the classical ruler of the underworld in the [[mystery religions]], was a giver of agricultural, mineral and spiritual wealth, and in art often holds a cornucopia.<ref>{{cite book |first=Kevin |last=Clinton |title=Myth and Cult: The Iconography of the Eleusinian Mysteries |location=Stockholm |date=1992 |pages=105–107}}</ref>{{-}}

== Modern depictions ==

[[File:Cornucopia of Orchids at Kew.jpg|thumb|Giant cornucopia of [[orchid]]s at [[Kew Gardens]], 2025]]

In modern depictions, the cornucopia is typically a hollow, horn-shaped wicker basket filled with various kinds of festive [[fruit]] and [[vegetables]]. In most of [[North America]], the cornucopia has come to be associated with [[Thanksgiving]] and the harvest. Cornucopia is also the name of the annual November Food and Wine celebration in [[Whistler, British Columbia|Whistler]], British Columbia, Canada. Two cornucopias are seen in the [[flag of Idaho|flag]] and [[seal of Idaho|state seal]] of [[Idaho]]. The Great [[Seal of North Carolina]] depicts Liberty standing and Plenty holding a cornucopia. The coats of arms of [[Colombia]], [[Panama]], [[Peru]], [[Venezuela]], [[Victoria, Australia]] and [[Kharkiv|Kharkiv, Ukraine]], also feature the cornucopia, symbolizing prosperity.{{cn|date=February 2025}}

Cornucopia motifs appear in some modern literature, such as [[Terry Pratchett]]'s ''[[Wintersmith]]'' and [[Suzanne Collins]]'s ''[[The Hunger Games]]''.{{cn|date=February 2025}}

The horn of plenty is used for body art and at [[Thanksgiving]], as it is a symbol of fertility, fortune and abundance.{{cn|date=February 2025}}

==Gallery==

<gallery mode="nolines" heights="170" widths="170">
File:NAMA 16346 Cornucopia.JPG|[[Ancient Greek art|Greek]] vase of [[Plouton]] with a cornucopia and [[Demeter]] with a sceptre and plough, by the Orestes Painter, 440-430 BC, ceramic, [[National Archaeological Museum, Athens|National Archaeological Museum]], [[Athens]], [[Greece]]
File:Fortuna Statue.jpg|[[Roman art|Roman]] statue of [[Fortuna]], copy after a Greek original from the 4th century BC, marble, [[Vatican Museums]], Rome
File:Gold oktadrachm of Ptolemy IV Philopator MET DP139890.jpg|Ancient Greek octodrachm of [[Ptolemy IV Philopator]] with a cornucopia, 221–204 BC, gold, [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]], New York
File:Peter Paul Rubens - Abundance (Abundantia) - Google Art Project.jpg|[[Allegory|Allegorical]] depiction of the Roman goddess [[Abundantia]] with a cornucopia, by [[Rubens]] (<abbr>c.</abbr> 1630).
File:Commodo vestito da Ercole ai Musei Capitolini.jpg|Roman cornucopia of ''[[Commodus as Hercules]]'', {{circa}}192, marble, [[Capitoline Museums]], Rome<ref>{{cite book|last1=Virginia|first1=L. Campbell|title=Ancient Rome - Pocket Museum|date=2017|publisher=Thames & Hudson|isbn=978-0-500-51959-2|page=196|url=|language=en}}</ref>
File:Andrea Mantegna 007.jpg|[[Renaissance art|Renaissance]] [[column]] [[capital (architecture)|capital]] in The Circumsicion of Jesus, by [[Andrea Mantegna]], {{circa}}1461, tempera on wood, [[Uffizi]], [[Florence]], Italy
File:Ceres Goujon Cour Carrée Louvre.jpg|Renaissance relief of Ceres, on the east facade of the [[Lescot Wing]] in the [[Cour Carrée]], [[Louvre Palace]], by [[Jean Goujon]], 1553
File:Dijon (21) Maison des Cariatides - 15.jpg|Renaissance cornucopia on the [[Maison des Cariatides]], [[Dijon]], France, unknown architect or sculptor, {{circa}}1550-1600<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.pop.culture.gouv.fr/notice/merimee/PA00112406 |website=pop.culture.gouv.fr |title=Maison dite des Cariatides ou Maison Pouffier |language=fr |trans-title=House known as the Caryatids or Maison Pouffier |author= |access-date=18 September 2023}}</ref>
File:Jan davids de heem-fleurs avec portrait guillaume III d'Orange.jpg|Portrait of [[William III of England|William III of Orange]], aged 10, portrait by [[Jan Vermeer van Utrecht]] and decor by [[Jan Davidsz. de Heem]], {{circa}}1659-1666, oil on canvas, [[Museum of Fine Arts of Lyon]], France
File:Le Verseau dans la galerie d'Apollon.jpg|[[Baroque]] cornucopia in the ceiling of the [[Galerie d'Apollon]], [[Louvre Palace]], Paris, by [[Louis Le Vau]] and [[Charles Le Brun]], after 1661<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sharman |first1=Ruth |title=Yves Saint Laurent & Art |date=2022 |publisher=[[Thames & Hudson]] |isbn=978-0-500-02544-4 |page=147 |url= |language=en}}</ref>
File:2017 Escultura. Palacio de Versalles P41.jpg|Baroque pair of cornucopias on the garden façade of the [[Palace of Versailles]], [[Versailles]], France, by [[Jules Hardouin-Mansart]], 1678–1688<ref>{{cite book |last1=Martin |first1=Henry |title=Le Style Louis XIV |date=1927 |publisher=Flammarion |isbn= |page=21 |url= |language=fr}}</ref>
File:A sculpture at the palace of Versailles.jpg|L’Abondance, by [[Antoine Coysevox]], 1682, unknown stone, [[Palace of Versailles]], [[Versailles]], France
File:The Four Continents (America), Johann Joachim Kaendler and assistants, Meissen Porcelain Factory, c. 1760, hard-paste porcelain - Wadsworth Atheneum - Hartford, CT - DSC05373.jpg|[[Rococo]] [[personification of the Americas]] with an alligator, a parrot, and a cornucopia, all symbols of the [[New World]], designed by [[Johann Joachim Kändler]] and produced by the [[Meissen Porcelain Factory]], {{circa}}1760, porcelain, [[Wadsworth Atheneum]], [[Hartford, Connecticut|Hartford]], [[Connecticut]], US
File:Manifattura di chelsea, i quattro elementi, terra, 1760-69 ca.jpg|Rococo personification of [[earth (classical element)]], by the [[Chelsea Porcelain Factory]], {{circa}}1760-1770, porcelain, [[Indianapolis Museum of Art]], [[Indianapolis]], US
File:Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun. La paix ramenant l'abondance.jpg|Peace bringing back Prosperity, by [[Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun]], 1780, oil on canvas, [[Louvre]]
File:Nancy opéra national de Lorraine armoiries de Nancy.jpg|Rococo pair of cornucopias in the [[Opéra national de Lorraine]], [[Nancy, France|Nancy]], France, designed by [[Jean-François de La Borde]], 1753<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.pop.culture.gouv.fr/notice/merimee/PA00106280 |website=pop.culture.gouv.fr |title=Opéra - théâtre |language=fr |author= |access-date=18 September 2023}}</ref>
File:Ewer and basin MET DP362786.jpg|Louis XVI style cornucopia on an ewer, by [[François Antoine Pfeiffer]], [[Gilbert Drouet]] and the [[Manufacture nationale de Sèvres|Sèvres Porcelain Factory]], 1795, hard-paste porcelain, Metropolitan Museum of Art
File:L'Hyménée, PPO2024(10).jpg|[[Neoclassicism|Neoclassical]] cornucopias on the pedestal of a clock, by [[Antoine André Ravrio]], early 19th century, marble and gilt bronze, Petit Palais
File:Manufacture de Sèvres, Table dite des palais impériaux 04.jpg|Neoclassical cornucopias on a table, by the [[Manufacture nationale de Sèvres|Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory]], 1811-1814, modified in 1814-1817, hard-paste porcelain and gilded bronze, in a temporary exhibition called ''Art and Court Life in the Imperial Palace'' at the [[Montreal Museum of Fine Arts]], [[Canada]]
File:Pair of Spindle Vases - OA 11090 - Louvre (05).jpg|Neoclassical cornucopia on a vase, by the Sèvres Porcelain Factory, 1814, hard-paste porcelain with platinum background and gilt bronze mounts, Louvre<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.amisdulouvre.fr/acquisitions/paire-vases-fuseau |title=Paire de Vases « Fuseau » |language=fr |website=amisdulouvre.fr |access-date=10 May 2023}}</ref>
File:Paris - Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris - Tapis monumental du chœur - Détail -6.JPG|Neoclassical cornucopias on the [[Choir Carpet of Notre-Dame de Paris]], by the [[Gobelins Manufactory]], 1825-1833<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.pop.culture.gouv.fr/notice/palissy/PM75000703|website=pop.culture.gouv.fr |title=tapis de choeur Louis-Philippe |language=fr |author= |access-date=18 September 2023}}</ref>
File:87 avenue Henri-Martin Paris (cropped cartouche).jpg|Two [[Beaux Arts architecture|Beaux-Arts]] mascarons of [[Avenue Henri-Martin]] no. 87, Paris, designed by [[Albert Walwein]], 1892
File:Hôtel de Ville de Tours 06.jpg|Beaux-Arts cornucopias on the [[Hôtel de Ville, Tours|city hall]] of [[Tours]], France, by [[Victor Laloux]], 1896-1904
File:2 Strada Termopile, Bucharest (02).jpg|Beaux-Arts conrnucopias of Strada Termopile no. 2, Bucharest, unknown architect, {{circa}}1900
File:Paris - Façade du Petit Palais - PA00088878 - 035.jpg|Beaux-Arts cornucopias on the [[Petit Palais]], Paris, by [[Charles Giraud]], 1900{{sfn|Jones|2014|p=294}}
File:Interior of the BCR Headquarters Building 31.jpg|Beaux-Arts [[stucco]]s with pairs of cornucopias in the [[Generala Building]] ([[Bulevardul Regina Elisabeta]] no. 5), [[Bucharest]], [[Romania]], by [[Oscar Maugsch]], 1906-1908<ref>{{cite book |last1=Oltean |first1=Radu |title=Bucureștii Belle Époque |date=2016 |publisher=Art Historia |isbn=978-973-0-22923-3 |page=58 |url= |language=ro}}</ref>
File:44 Calea Călărașilor, Bucharest (12).jpg|Art Deco cornucopias on the [[pediment]] corners of the Mihai Zisman House ([[Calea Călărașilor]] no. 44), Bucharest, by architect Soru, 1920
File:77 avenue des Champs-Élysées, Paris 8e 5.jpg|Art Deco cornucopias of [[Avenue des Champs-Élysées]] no. 77, Paris, unknown architect, {{circa}}1930
File:Кривбасшахтопрохідка 03.JPG|[[Stalinist architecture|Stalinist]] cornucopias on the administration building of the "Kryvbasshahtoprohidka" and "Pivdenruda" associations, [[Kryvyi Rih]], [[Ukraine]], unknown architect, 1950s
File:RathausSaarlouisL1070887 (2).jpg|[[Modern art|Modernist]] relief of Europe, forcing the wild bull on its knees and pouring out the cornucopia with the blessings of prosperity, in the [[Saarlouis]] Town Hall, Germany, by [[Nikolaus Simon]], 1953-1955
File:Coat of arms of Colombia.svg|The [[Coat of arms of Colombia]]
File:Escudo nacional del Perú.svg|[[Coat of arms of Peru]]
</gallery>

==See also==
{{Div col|colwidth=16em}}
* [[Akshaya Patra]]
* [[Drinking horn]]
* [[List of mythological objects]]
* [[Venus of Laussel]]
* [[Cornucopian]]
{{Div col end}}

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
{{refbegin|30em|indent=yes}}
* {{cite book|editor-last1=Jones |editor-first1=Denna |title=Architecture The Whole Story |date=2014 |publisher=Thames & Hudson |isbn=978-0-500-29148-1 |language=en}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
*{{Commons category-inline}}

{{Ornaments}}
{{Thanksgiving}}
{{Greek religion|state=collapsed}}
{{portalbar|Arts|Food}}

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[[Category:Mythological objects]]
[[Category:Objects in Greek mythology]]
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