Learn About the Cornucopia

The cornucopia, literally 'horn of plenty,' adorns the Thanksgiving table thanks to Greek mythology. The horn may originally have belonged to a goat, but Zeus used to drink from it as a baby. The story of Zeus' childhood says that his mother, Rhea, sent him to a cave on the island of Crete for safe-keeping in order to prevent his father, Cronus, from swallowing him.

• See Cannibalism in Greek Mythology

Sometimes it is said that a goat named Amalthea (various spellings) nursed the infant Zeus; sometimes that a nymph of the same name fostered Zeus and fed him on goat's milk. His nurse has also been named Adrasteia, which Timothy Gantz says may be another name for Nemesis, and Ida.

While an infant, Zeus did what other babies do -- cry. To cover up the noise and keep Cronus from finding out his wife's plot to protect her son, Amalthea asked the Kuretes or Korybantes to come to the cave where Zeus was hidden and make lots of noise by clashing their weapons.

There are various versions of the evolution of the cornucopia from a horn sitting on the head of the nurturing goat. One is that the goat tore it off herself to present it to Zeus; another that Zeus tore it off and gave it back to the Amalthea-goat promising her abundance; another, that it came from the head of Achelous, the river god, which the Naiads filled with fruit.

The cornucopia is most frequently associated with the goddess of the harvest, Demeter (Roman Ceres) -- as in the harvest song lyrics: "Ceres came with Plenty's Horn and showered wheat and golden corn" -- but is also associated with other gods, including the aspect of the Underworld god that is the god of wealth, Pluto, since the horn symbolizes abundance.

Woman holding cornucopia image © Clipart.com