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Herennia Etruscilla – Roman Empress wife of Trajan Decius –
Bronze Antoninianus 21mm (2.40 grams) Rome mint: 250-251 A.D.
Reference: RIC 55b (Trajan ), C 8
HERETRVSCILLAAVG – Diademed, draped bust right on crescent.
FECVNDITASAVG – Fecunditas standing left, with right hand over child
and holding cornucopia.
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The cornucopia (from Latin cornu copiae) or horn of plenty
is a symbol of abundance and nourishment, commonly a large horn-shaped container
overflowing with produce, flowers, nuts, other edibles, or wealth in some form.
Originating in
classical antiquity
, it has continued as a
symbol in
Western art
, and it is particularly associated
with the
Thanksgiving
holiday in
North America
.
Allegorical
depiction of the Roman
goddess
Abundantia
with a cornucopia, by
Rubens
(ca. 1630)
In Mythology
Mythology
offers multiple
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
(“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
horns
, which then had the divine power to
provide unending nourishment, as the foster mother had to the god.
In another myth, the cornucopia was created when
Heracles
(Roman
Hercules
) wrestled with the river god
Achelous
and wrenched off one of his horns;
river gods were sometimes depicted as horned. This version is represented in the
Achelous and Hercules
mural painting
by the
American Regionalist
artist
Thomas Hart Benton
.
The cornucopia became the attribute of several
Greek
and
Roman deities
, particularly those associated
with the harvest, prosperity, or spiritual abundance, such as personifications
of Earth (Gaia
or
Terra
); the child
Plutus
, god of riches and son of the grain
goddess Demeter
; the
nymph
Maia
; and
Fortuna
, the goddess of luck, who had the power
to grant prosperity. In
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 of the
grain supply to the city of Rome
.
Pluto
, 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 to distinguish
him from the gloomier Hades
, who holds a
drinking horn
instead.
Modern depictions
In modern depictions, the cornucopia is typically a hollow, horn-shaped
wicker basket filled with various kinds of festive
fruit
and
vegetables
. In North America, the cornucopia
has come to be associated with
Thanksgiving
and the harvest. Cornucopia is
also the name of the annual November Wine and Food celebration in
Whistler
, British Columbia, Canada. Two
cornucopias are seen in the
flag
and
state seal
of
Idaho
. The Great
Seal
of
North Carolina
depicts Liberty standing and
Plenty holding a cornucopia. The coat of arms of
Colombia
,
Panama
,
Peru and
Venezuela
, and the Coat of Arms of the State of
Victoria, Australia
, also feature the
cornucopia, symbolising prosperity.
The horn of plenty is used on body art and at Halloween, as it is a symbol of
fertility, fortune and abundance.
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Base of a statue of
Louis XV of France
Annia Cupressenia Herennia Etruscilla was
Augusta
(Sept. 249 – Jun. 251) of the
Roman Empire
, wife of
Emperor
Decius
, and mother of Emperors
Herennius Etruscus
and
Hostilian
.
As with most third century Roman empresses, very little is known about her.
Probably of senatorial family, she became regent on her son Hostilian, when
Decius and Herennius were defeated and killed in the
Battle of Abrittus
to sink into obscurity after
her husband and sons perished. It is assumed that her ancestors settled in
Etrurian
lands. Herennia married Decius
probably before 230 and gained the title
Augusta
. Her sons were
Herennius Etruscus
and
Hostilian
.
In Roman mythology, Fecunditas (Latin: “fecundity, fertility”) was the
goddess of fertility. She was portrayed as a matron, sometimes holding a
cornucopia or a hasta pura, with children in her arms or standing next to her.
Nero erected a temple to Fecundity, on the occasion of a daughter being born to
him by Poppaea (Tacit xv 23). And the adoration of this divinity, once
established at Rome, became a frequent subject of allusion and typification on
the coins of succeeding empresses. It has been thought that, under this name,
worship was paid to Juno. The priest of Fecundity was called Lupercus; and to
him one of the artful and indecent superstitions of paganism ascribed the power
of rendering women fertile, by strapping them, while in a state of nudity, with
thongs made of goat skin! On coins of the Augustae, Fecundity appears as a
matron, clothed in the stola, sometimes standing with the hasta pura in her
right hand, and supporting an infant in her left; sometimes with a cornucopiae
in her left hand, and before her a child, to which she extends her right hand.
On others she is seated, with children in her lap, or standing at each side of
her; sometimes with one on each arm.
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