Modern-era
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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
.
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.
-
Base of a statue of
Louis XV of France
Gaius
Aurelius alerius Diocletianus (c. 22 December 244 – 3
December 311),
born Diocles (Greek:
Διοκλῆς) and commonly known as
Diocletian, was
Roman
Emperor
from 20 November 284 to 1 May 305. Born to a
Dalmatian
family of low status, he rose through the ranks of the military to become
cavalry commander to the emperor
Carus
. After the
deaths of Carus and his son
Numerian
on
campaign in Persia, Diocletian was acclaimed emperor by the army. A brief
confrontation with Carus’ other surviving son
Carinus
at
the
Battle of the Margus
removed the only other claimant to the title. With his
ascension to power, he ended the
Crisis of the Third Century
. Diocletian appointed fellow-officer
Maximian
his
Augustus
, his senior co-emperor, in 285. He delegated further on 1 March
293, appointing Galerius
and
Constantius
as
Caesars
, junior co-emperors. Under this “Tetrarchy“,
or “rule of four”, each emperor would rule over a quarter-division of the
empire. In campaigns against
Sarmatian
and Danubian
tribes (285–90), the
Alamanni
(288), and usurpers in
Egypt
(297–98), Diocletian secured the empire’s borders and purged it of
threats to his power. In 299, Diocletian led negotiations with
Sassanid Persia
, the empire’s traditional enemy, and achieved a lasting and
favorable peace.
Diocletian separated and enlarged the empire’s civil and
military services and re-organized the empire’s provincial divisions,
establishing the largest and most
bureaucratic
government in the history of the empire. He established new
administrative centers in
Nicomedia
,
Mediolanum
,
Antioch
, and
Trier
, closer to
the empire’s frontiers than the traditional capital at Rome had been. Building
on third-century trends towards absolutism, Diocletian styled himself an
autocrat, elevating himself above the empire’s masses with imposing forms of
court ceremonial and architecture. Bureaucratic and military growth, constant
campaigning, and construction projects increased the state’s expenditures, and
necessitated a comprehensive tax reform. From at least 297 on, imperial taxation
was standardized, made more equitable, and levied at generally higher rates.
Not all Diocletian’s plans were successful; the
Edict on Maximum Prices
(301), Diocletian’s attempt to curb
inflation
via price controls
,, was unsuccessful, counterproductive, and quickly ignored.
Although effective while he ruled, Diocletian’s Tetrarchic system collapsed
after his abdication under the competing dynastic claims of
Maxentius
and Constantine
, sons of Maximian and Constantius respectively. The
Diocletianic Persecution
(303–11), the empire’s last, largest, and bloodiest
official persecution of
a title=”Christianity” href=”https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christianity”>
Christianity, did not destroy the empire’s Christian community; indeed,
after 324 Christianity became the empire’s preferred religion under its first
Christian emperor,
Constantine
. In spite of his failures, Diocletian’s reforms fundamentally
changed the structure of Roman imperial government and helped stabilize the
empire economically and militarily, enabling an empire that had seemed near the
brink of collapse in Diocletian’s youth to remain essentially intact for another
hundred years. Weakened by illness, Diocletian left the imperial office on May
1, 305, and became the first Roman emperor to voluntarily abdicate the position.
He lived out his retirement in
his palace
on the Dalmatian coast, tending to his vegetable gardens. His
palace went on to become the core of the modern day city of
Split
//
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