cornucopia
The cornucopia or Latin cornucopia ( ancient Greek κέρας Ἀμαλθείας keras Amaltheias "horn of Amaltheia", Latin cornu copiae "horn of abundance") is a mythological symbol of happiness . It is filled with flowers and fruits and represents fertility , bounty, abundance and abundance.
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The cornucopia is a funnel-shaped or bag-shaped wicker basket that is likely to have been used primarily for grape harvest. In Greek mythology , the cornucopia first belonged to the mythical goat Amaltheia , who raised Zeus with it , but is then also used by the earth gods Gaia , Eirene of peace , Tyche ( Fortuna ) and the wealth of Pluto . Of the Old Testament figures, it is above all the prophet Joel who is shown with a cornucopia.
In the representation of the four seasons , the cornucopia is primarily assigned to the autumn harvest season . The cornucopia can also be associated with spring , as in the representation of the Roman flora , but here in modern representations it gives way to the flower arrangement, as in Giuseppe Arcimboldo's Flora (late 16th century), Rembrandt's Saskia als Flora (1634 ) and also Louis-Marin Bonnet's Tête de Flore (1769) or Countess Kaganek (1782) by Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun . Even Titian's Flora (1515), however, only a few buds holds in his hands.
numismatics
In numismatics , the cornucopia is the symbol for the French mint Établissement Monétaire du Pessac and from 2007 to 2010 also for the Finnish mint Rahapaja Oy in Vantaa .
literature
- Karl Kerényi : The Mythology of the Greeks - The Gods and Human Stories. dtv, Munich 1994, ISBN 3-423-30030-2 .
- Michael Grant , John Hazel: Lexicon of ancient myths and figures . dtv, Munich 2004, ISBN 3-423-32508-9 .
- Robert von Ranke-Graves : Greek Mythology - Sources and Interpretation . rororo, Hamburg 2001, ISBN 3-499-55404-6 .
