Cornucopia: Origins,diffusion and adoption in ancient Irano-Indian semiosphere

Abstract

Cornucopia or the horn of plenty is one of the cultural and social symbols that signify abundance and blessing in Western culture. Cornucopia originated from Greek mythology, partly related to the legend of Zeus, and partly to the legends of Hercules, Hades, Demeter and Tyche. The sign of cornucopia is also depicted on ancient Iranian and Indian artworks, and the obvious inference is that this was due to Hellenistic influence in both countries.

Keywords

Cornucopia Parthian artworks Indian artworks Hellenism cultural semiotics connotation semiosphere

Introduction

Cornucopia as a word is derived from the Latin word cornu-copiae, which means horn of plenty.¹ This symbol has been widely used in Western culture. Cornucopia is a horn that is depicted as full of fruits, flowers, plants and nuts. The most significant application of cornucopia is in North America at Thanksgiving, which dates back to the time of the first harvest of migratory crops on the East Coast of the United States in Plymouth, 1621 ad.² Cornucopia is one of the designs used in many European artworks, including Greek and Roman statues, Renaissance paintings and even contemporary coats of arms and logos. In all these works, cornucopia or the horn of plenty is a sign of blessing and abundance. The legend of cornucopia and its function is rooted in Greek mythology, and its visualisation or connotation in ancient Iranian and Indian antiquities will be examined by following Yuri Lotman’s approach in interpretation of culture as a text in its ‘semiosphere’.³

Background Information

Articles on the nature and history of cornucopia can be found in mythological dictionaries and encyclopedias, especially in entries related to the myth of Zeus and Hercules. Among articles that explore the comparative study of cornucopia in oriental art, we have one ‘Nidhisringa (Cornucopia): A Study in Symbolism’ by Moti Chandra, who seeks a Vedic origin for cornucopia.⁴ In Nagarjunakonda: A Cultural Study, Konakundla Krishna Murthy also insists on an Indian origin for cornucopia.⁵ In his article, ‘Cornocopia non est Nidhiśṛnga’, Adalbert Gail examines the characteristics of cornucopia and Nidhiśṛnga in Kushan art and rejects the hypotheses presented by Moti Chandra and Murthy.⁶ The work of Niccolo Manassero, also examines the symbols of the rhyton (drinking cup) of Nisa and its relation to the Hestia, the Greek goddess and her Roman equivalent Vesta who sometimes is depicted with a cornucopia in her left hand. Manassero also emphasises Hestia’s homogeneity with Tabiti, the Scythian goddess as the symbol of ‘Farrah’ or ‘Glory’.⁷

Cornucopia in Greek Mythology

In Greek mythology, cornucopia or the horn of plenty is the horn of the Amalthea, the goat that took care of the baby Zeus or Jupiter.⁸ Ancient Greek myths do not give a precise definition of Amalthea. The signification of its name derives from the act of amaltheuein, that is, nourishing and fostering.⁹ Some linguists also consider the word to be amalthaktos, meaning strong and firm,¹⁰ and some indicate that it may derive from two words amalê and theia, according to which it would signify the divine goat, or the tender goddess, a matter which will be discussed later on. But an adaptation of the word amelgein meaning fostering or milking is more likely.¹¹ The story of Amalthea and cornucopia is related to Zeus being hidden in a cave as an infant and nourished by a magical goat called Amalthea.¹²

In Greek mythology, there are other accounts of Amalthea as well. In the narrative of Ovid, the Roman historian (43 bc–17 ad), Amalthea is described as a nymph who wrapped the broken horn of the goat, which tended Zeus, in a ring of flower and stuffed it with fruit to feed the baby Zeus.¹³ In other narratives, still, Amalthea is a nymph and the daughter of some mythical characters such as Oceanus, Helios, Haemonius or the Cretan king Melisseus, who fed Zeus with goat milk.¹⁴ In another narrative, quoted by Apollodorus, the historian and iconographer of the second century bc, Zeus broke the horn of the goat and gave it to the daughters of Melisseus. The horn had this miraculous power that its owner could find in the horn all that he or she wished in the horn.¹⁵ Therefore, cornucopia or the horn of plenty was depicted as a symbol of blessing and abundance in Greek and Roman mythology. Diodorus, the Greek historian of the first century bc, yet narrates another story about Amalthea. He tells us that Ammon, the king of Lydia, had married Amalthea, a beautiful virgin, who gave him a fertile field in the shape of a horn, which was henceforth called the horn of Amalthea.¹⁶

Figure 1

River God Achelous, Athenian Red-Figure fresco c.5th bc, Musée du Louvre, G365

Figure 2

Hercules Wrestles with the River God Achelous Grasping Him by the Horn, British Museum, E417

Other narrations in the Greek and Roman mythology are related to the battle of Hercules with Achelous, the River God of Aitolia (Aetolia) in central Greece, for the hand of the Aitolian princess, Deianeira. Hercules tore off one of Achelous’s horns (Figures 1 and 2). As narrated by Apollodorus in Bibliotheca, Achelous replaced his broken horn by the horn belonging to Amalthea the daughter of Haemonius.

According to Pherecydes, this was ‘the horn of a bull, which could provide bounteous amounts of food or drink, whichever one wished for’.¹⁷ Diodorus Siculus narrates in Library of History 4. 35. 3 that the horn was

filled with a great quantity of every kind of autumn fruit such as grapes and apples and the like, the poets signifying in this obscure manner by the horn of Achelous the stream which ran through the canal, and by the apples and pomegranates and grapes of the fruitful land which was watered by the river and the multitude of its fruit-bearing plants.¹⁸

In both of these narratives, in spite of some differences, the horn of plenty or cornucopia is the source of many blessings and abundance. Suidass, the Greek philosopher of the tenth century ad, also wrote about the horn of Amalthea, which has amplitude for those who are in her favour.¹⁹

The oldest images of cornucopia belong to the fifth century bc. Apart from the story of Zeus, Amalthea, Achelous, Hercules and their relationship with cornucopia, this object is found in Greek, Roman and generally Western art, along with depictions of other myths, including Hades, Pluto, Irene and Tyche. Hades—the eldest son of Kronos, the brother of Zeus and the god of the underworld—is usually depicted with a large cornucopia that is rich in leafy fruits or vegetables. Some researchers have considered the cornucopia to have contained pumpkin, pomegranate or even cakes. Since cornucopia has been associated with fertility and, in particular, with the abundance of agricultural products, some researchers have interpreted Hades’ relationship with cornucopia as a supplier and guarantor of the richness of land and agriculture (Figure 3).²⁰ Sometimes, the cornucopia of Hades is shown to be empty.²¹ Only in two known examples of existing works, cornucopia is depicted in the hands of Pluto. Pluto was the god of fertility and abundance of land, and later was considered as the god of wealth. Pluto is the son of Demeter, the goddess of agriculture (Figure 4).²² Zeus blinds him to divide the wealth fairly among the beneficiaries.²³ Pluto is usually depicted in the form of a boy holding a cornucopia filled with wheat, or as a child in the arms of Irene, the goddess of peace, or Tyche, the goddess of wealth and fortune. Some scholars disagree on assigning a man with a cornucopia to Hades or Pluto.²⁴

Figure 3

National Archaeological Museum

Figure 4

Athens, 16346; The J. Paul Getty Museum, Malibu 86.AE.680

Irene, who is considered in Roman culture as the goddess of tranquility and peace, is depicted with the cornucopia in her left hand (Figure 5).²⁵ Honos, who in Roman mythology was the god of chivalrous, proud and military justice, is also sometimes portrayed as a man with a spear and cornucopia (Figure 6). Occasionally, Honos has been replaced by Virtus, the goddess of valour.²⁶ Also, cornucopia is depicted in the images of Tyche,²⁷ the Greek goddess or fortune, the Roman goddess of fortune, blessing and abundance. Pausanias, a Greek writer of the second century ad, wrote in his Description of Greece: ‘I remember, too, to have seen a building in Eigira, in which there is a statue of Fortune holding a horn of Amalthea’.²⁸

Figure 5

Source: Available at http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/ric/hadrian/RIC_0021.jpg

Figure 6

Source: Available at http://www.forumancientcoins.com/moonmoth/honos_pics/m_aurelius_010rf.jpg

Cornucopia in Other Cultures

With the spread of Hellenic culture in the lands conquered by Alexander, like Achaemenid territory, the sign of cornucopia was depicted on some artworks and also on coins such as the coins of the Ptolemaic dynasty of Egypt (Figure 7).²⁹

On a piece of moulded pottery from Roman–Egyptian art, standing nude Harpocrates, the child god of silence, is depicted holding a cornucopia with grapes and various fruits in his left hand (Figure 8).³⁰

Figure 7

Ptolemy II, 285 bc–246 bc

Figure 8

Harpocrates, Yale Peabody Museum, ANT 243108

Cornucopia is also depicted on the coins of the Jewish dynasty of Hasmonean (Maccabean) kings (Judea Palestine) as the sign of fertility and acquired additional Jewish connotation due to an ancient tradition that the horns of animals were used as containers of oil, an object to anoint kings with (Figure 9).³¹

Figure 9

Judea, Hasmonean Dynasty, Judah Aristobulus

Under Seleucid rule, cornucopia is also depicted in Palmyrene artworks in Syria as the sign of plenty and abundance (Figure 10).

Figure 10

Source: Available at http://www.usc.edu/dept/LAS/arc/palmyrene/html/Char.html

Cornucopia in Parthian Art

The sign of cornucopia can be identified and observed in some of the Parthian artworks. These works include reliefs, coins and rhytons.

Reliefs

In some of the Parthian reliefs in Elamite region in Western Iran, two images of cornucopia have been identified (see Figures 11 and 12).³² In another relief of Parthian period (second and third centuries), from the Hall 13 of the Hercules Temple in the Masjid Soleyman, the king or prince is depicted carrying out religious ceremonies for the goddess Heracles–Verethragna, the patron of the royal dynasties and the symbol of power and victory while holding the cornucopia in the left hand (Figure 13).

Coins

Cornucopia has also been identified on Parthian coins. The first sample is on the coins of Phraates II (Sellwood type 17)³³ which depicted a bearded deity with a Tyche crown and cornucopia—holding Nike (Figure 14). As Michael Alram notes,

Tyche corresponds to the Assyrian goddess Ištar, who is occasionally referred to or depicted as bearded, especially as Nanaya or Mullissu (the latter representing the heavenly aspect of the goddess). The beard symbolized the androgyny and perfection of the goddess, who as ‘holy spirit’ was the divine mother of the king and the model for man’s salvation.³⁴

Cornucopia is depicted on other Parthian coins minted during the reign of Artabanus I (Sellwood type 21), Mithradates II (Sellwood type 23, 27), Orodes II (Sellwood type 47), Phraates IV (Sellwood type 50, 51, 52, 54), Artabanus II (Sellwood type 61, 67), Vardanes I (Sellwood type 64) and Tiridates I (Sellwood type 55). In these coins, which are similar to the coins of the Seleucid king Demetrius I (162–150 bc), Demeter, the goddess of agriculture and fertility, or Tyche, the goddess of fortune and prosperity of a city and its destiny, hold a cornucopia in their left hands (Figures 15–19).

Figures 11 and 12

Tang-e Sarvak

Figure 13

Source: Available at http://www.louvre.fr/en/oeuvre-notices/bas-relief

Figure 14

Phraates II (Sellwood Type 17)

Figure 15

Artabanus I (Sellwood Type 21), Mithradates II (Sellwood Type 23, 27)

Figures 16 and 17

Orodes II (Sellwood Type 47), Phraates IV (Sellwood Types 50, 51, 52, 54), Vonones II (Sellwood Type 61, 67), Vardanes I (Sellwood Type 64)

Figures 18 and 19

Figures 18 and 19 Phraates IV (Sellwood Type 50), Tiridates I (Sellwood Type 55)

Rhytons

Cornucopia is similar to the rhytons which have been found in the city of Nisa (Figures 20 and 21). Elizabeth Arrington and Joe Craig believe that the connection between any rhyton and cornucopia cannot be ignored.³⁵

Figure 20

Source: Available at http://m9.i.pbase.com/o6/93/329493/1/141565849.fNdUQOkW.UZTM112460.jpg

Figure 21

Source: Available at http://m9.i.pbase.com/o6/93/329493/1/141565849.fNdUQOkW.UZTM112460.jpg

The depiction of cornucopia in some of the works of the Parthian period can be regarded as due to the artistic influence of the Seleucid period. Obviously, with the domination of the Seleucid’s over Iran, like the other Hellenistic signs, the image of cornucopia has been used to signify a source of blessing and wealth. The bronze statue of Tyche, at Nahavand (Figure 22), with cornucopia in her hand and the depiction of cornucopia on Seleucid coins support this inference.

Figure 22

Tyche at Nahavand

Cornucopia in Ancient Indian Art

Cornucopia has been identified on coins of Huvishka, the Kushan king ruling present day Afghanistan and North India in the late second century ad, placed in the hands of goddess Ardoksho. In gold coins of Samudragupta, gold dinar, c. 335–375 ad, a Cornucopia is also shown in the hand of the enthroned goddess of wealth, Lakshmi (Figures 23 and 24).

Figure 23

Coin of Huvishka. AV Dinar ‘Ardoksho’, Nimbate Goddess Standing Right, Holding Cornu Copiae

Figure 24

Guptas: Samudragupta, Gold Dinar, c. 335–375 ad, Lakshmi Enthroned Facing, Holding Cornucopia and Diadem

In Gandhara sculptures, two important figures that were depicted somewhat frequently are Panchika, the god of wealth, and his consort Hariti, the deity of prosperity, abundance, fertility and wealth who are correlated with the Iranian gods, Pharro and Ardoxsho. These sculptures are highly influenced by Graeco–Roman art. In most of these sculptures, cornucopia as the sign of prosperity and abundance, is placed in the hands of Hariti (Figure 25).

Figure 25

Source: Available at https://web.archive.org/web/20060907055640/ http://kaladarshan.arts.ohio-state.edu/studypages/internal/dl/SouthAsia/Buddhist/pgs/u5/DL0227m.htm

Assuming that in the Hindu and Buddhist traditions, it is not permissible to use dead parts of an animal like the horn. Angelo Andrea Di Castro has considered Hariti as the Demeter or Tyche, the Greek goddess of prosperity, plenty and abundance.³⁶ On the other hand, Moti Chandra does not consider the origin of using the horns of animals at the Vedic ritual as unusual, and based on two verses of the Vishnudharmottara-Purāna concludes that the cornucopia depicted in these statues presents a native origin, the Sanskrit equivalent of which is called Nidhiśrnga.³⁷ Konakondla Krishna Murti also represents the equivalent of the Nidhiśrnga for the horn symbol in ancient Indian art, as the treasure horn, which has been a symbol of abundance.³⁸ But Vishnudharmottara is a late text³⁹ and the depiction of cornucopia in Gandhara art and Kushan coinage is of such an early date that cornucopia must be regarded as a Hellenistic intrusion into Brahmanical iconography.

Conclusion

Cultural and historical evidence which have been mentioned and introduced in this article shows that the motif of cornucopia was introduced to the Iranian and Indian culture after Alexander’s expedition to the East, as a symbol of blessing, abundance and prosperity, along with other Greek mythological themes. Cornucopia found its place in the cultural symbols of Iran and India. The embodiment of cornucopia in the hands of Graeco–Roman goddess Tyche–Fortuna, Iranian Nanā—Ānāhitā and Indian Hariti—Lakshmī can now be seen as a stage-by-stage process, the sacred horn representing the sign of prosperity and blessing.