Editing Cornucopia (section)

==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>{{-}}