The thought of Thanksgiving results in many people fantasizing about turkey and mashed potatoes. And indeed, the holiday was initially established to celebrate an abundant harvest. One of the most iconic symbols of Thanksgiving is the cornucopia, often overflowing with fruits, vegetables, and grains. It’s a time to be thankful for having plenty of food to nourish us, now and throughout the year.
Thanksgiving is a fairly modern holiday, but the sign of the cornucopia goes back much farther. In fact, it was a common symbol found on the ancient coins of Israel and Rome.
Modern cornucopia’s are often made of a material similar to that of woven baskets. But the roots of the cornucopia icon actually come from a hollow animal horn, which is why it’s also referred to as a “horn of plenty.” In the Jewish culture, these horns were used as oil containers used to anoint kings, as a type of instrument known as a shofar, and eventually came to symbolize fertility when the horn was filled with grain, grapes, and pomegranates.
Some ancient cultures believed that the horn was symbolic of Amalthea, the goat that fed and protected Zeus as an infant while he was being hidden from his father, Cronos. When young Zeus was playing with Amalthea, he accidentally broke off one of her horns. Zeus made up for his actions by promising that the horn would always be filled with whatever good things its owner desired. And so the horn of plenty, or cornucopia, was created. It is traditionally shown overflowing with fruits.
During the first few centuries CE, cornucopias were used on Jewish coinage and other small objects, like amulets, rings, and seals. The coins of the Hasmonean (or Maccabean) kings depicted a double cornucopia with a pomegranate or poppy flower between the horns. Other coins had a single cornucopia or a double cornucopia with an ear of barley between the horns.
Later, Herod the Great and his son Herod Archelaus began to shift the cornucopia from a Jewish symbol to having more of a pagan influence. Herod was a client of Rome and had used force to take over from the Hasmonean dynasty. He attempted to bridge the two cultures by striking coins that were neither solely Jewish nor solely pagan. The cornucopias remained, but the pomegranates and barley were replaced by a caduceus, which was seen as a pagan symbol. Under Hellenistic influence, coins were also struck featuring a cornucopia carried by either Tyche, the city goddess, or Demeter, the goddess of the earth.
Abundantia was created as the personification of abundance and plenty on Roman coins. Her main attribute was the cornucopia. She was often depicted holding a large cornucopia in both hands and pouring fruits out from it. Other coins showed her sitting on a throne made of crossed cornucopias.
In addition to the cornucopia becoming the most commonly used symbol on Jewish and Roman coins, it was also used on coins of the Seleucid kings of Syria, the Ptolemaic kings of Egypt, and numerous ancient Hellenistic city-states. The tradition of striking a cornucopia onto coins continues today with some modern Israeli shekels. You can also find a cornucopia on the PAMP Suisse Fortuna Silver Bar and similar products made of different metals.
Are you a coin collector? If so, are there certain symbols—like a cornucopia, an animal, or the effigy of a historic figure—that you look for when adding to your collection?
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