The Cornucopia

The Horn Of Plenty

I love Thanksgiving.  I love everything to do wtih Thanksgiving.  And, to me, nothing says Thanksgiving better than a pretty cornucopia.  When I learned that the cornucopia had it's beginnings in mythology, I liked it even better. 

Read on to learn a little more about this very cool symbol for the holiday and see some pretty cornucopia pictures too. 

Cornucopias As Defined By Wikipedia


The cornucopia (Latin: Cornu Copiae) is a symbol of food and abundance dating back to the 5th Century BCE, also referred to as Horn of Plenty, Horn of Amalthea, and harvest cone,

In Greek mythology, Amalthea raised Zeus on the milk of a goat. In return Zeus gave Amalthea the goat's horn. It had the power to give to the person in possession of it whatever he or she wished for. This gave rise to the legend of the cornucopia. The original depictions were of the goat's horn filled with fruits and flowers: deities, especially Fortuna, would be depicted with the horn of plenty.

In modern depiction, the cornucopia is typically a hollow, horn-shaped wicker basket typically filled with various kinds of festive fruit and vegetables. The cornucopia has come to be associated with Thanksgiving and the harvest.

(...from Wikipedia)

A Wonderful Cornucopia Gift

You will be remembered as the "best guest ever" if you show up for Thanksgiving dinner bearing this beautiful cornucopia centerpiece as a gift for your hostess.

Decorate Your Home With Cornucopias

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The History Of The Cornucopia As Told In Mythology

According to myth, when the young Zeus (Jupiter) was playing with Amalthea (the goat who had nurtured him on the island of Crete), he accidentally broke off one of her horns. Zeus promised her that from that day forward, the horn would always be filled with whatever fruit she desired. As such, the Cornucopia came to symbolize the unasked profusion of gifts from the gods.

It has been used as an emblem of many deities, including Copia (Roman goddess of wealth and plenty who carries a cornucopia), Justitia (Roman goddess of justice), Spes (Roman goddess of hope), Honos (Roman deity of morality and military honor), and many others. The myth of the horn returns in the story of Hercules, who fights the river-god Achelous, who, having the power to change himself into anything, took the form of a bull. Achelous was the son of the ocean, and the god of the biggest river. Hercules breaks off one of the bull's horns, but after generously returning it, receives from Achelous the horn of plenty - the cornucopia.

(...from About.com)

Cornucopia Books Available From Amazon

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A Crystal Cornucopia For An Elegant Fall

24% CRYSTAL CORNUCOPIA - cornucopia

Amazon Price: $32.53 (as of 05/27/2012)Buy Now
List Price: $75.99

Cornucopia Feedback



Thanks for visiting my cornucopia page - leave me a note to let me know you were here.





  • miaponzo Nov 4, 2011 @ 5:31 pm | delete
    Wow! I was just looking for information on this very subject~ Blessed!
  • rms Nov 30, 2008 @ 12:42 pm | delete
    You came up on the front page! Thought I'd stop by and say Hi! Nice lens!
  • OhMe Nov 5, 2008 @ 4:43 pm | delete
    I really love to look at Cornucopias and have lensrolled this beautiful lens to my two Thanksgiving lenses which have pictures of my cornucopia.
  • JohannTheDog Nov 20, 2007 @ 8:40 pm | delete
    What a bountiful lens! Great job, bit fiver fur sure, and thanks for stopping by today..woofs, Johann
  • Margaret_Schaut Nov 10, 2007 @ 10:20 am | delete
    Good lens! Great topic, something everyone wonders about!
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"Squiducopia" -- Creative Commons. © 2007 LensDoc (Kirsti A. Dyer). Some rights reserved. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 License.

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GypsyPirate

I'm a parrothead from the NorthCoast, ready to share my view on the world...

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