Abundance and the Horn of Plenty on Roman Coins

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The Horn of Plenty

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"... A form of twisted symbolical bedsock ... the true purpose of which, as they realised at first glance, would never (alas) be revealed to mankind." (Sellar & Yeatman describing the Roman discovery of the Cornucopia in "Garden Rubbish".)

The reverse of an antoninianus of Valerian II showing the child Jupiter riding Amalthea.

Origins of the Cornucopia

malthea was a goat. A very unusual goat, who protected and fed the infant Zeus, known to the Romans as Jupiter, when he was being hidden from his destructive father Cronos. One version says that it was Adrasteia and Ida, daughters of King Melisseus of Crete, who fed him the goat's milk.

This is an antoninianus of Valerian II as a young Caesar. The image is of the infant Jupiter riding Amalthea, who is shown here as a wild and shaggy goat with long, twisted horns. When she died, her hide was made into the Aegis, a powerful protective device which is described in more detail on my Aegis page.

When the young Zeus was playing with Amalthea, he accidentally broke off one of her horns. To compensate for the pain and distress, he promised that the horn would always be filled with whatever good things its owner desired. This was the Cornucopia, the Horn of Plenty. (You might see it as "Cornucopiae" – this is not a plural, but a Latin version of the same word.) Traditionally it is shown overflowing with fruits, as opposed to, say, money or weapons, which would also be objects of desire in those times as now.

Abundance on Roman Coins

The reverse of a denarius of Elagabalus showing Abundantia.

The reverse of a denarius of Severus Alexander showing Abundantia.

bundance and plenty were was shown on Roman coins as the personification Abundantia, and naturally enough, her chief attribute was the cornucopia.

On the denarius of Severus Alexander on the near right is the commonest depiction of Abundantia – standing, holding a large cornucopia in both hands, and pouring out fruits from it.

As with most personifications, she represents an aspect of the Emperor; in this case, his role as the fount of all good things.

She pours to the right, she pours to the left. On the far right is a denarius of Elagabalus with a mirror image of the same representation. The outrageous Elagabalus added a star in the field to indicate his personal divinity.

The reverse of a denarius of Trajan showing Abundantia seated on crossed cornucopias.

The reverse of a denarius of Hadrian showing Abundantia or Annona with a mysterious object.

On the far left is a less common representation on a denarius of Trajan, showing Abundantia seated on a throne made up entirely of crossed cornucopias, holding a short sceptre. Having more than one cornucopia does not fit well with the myth. It seems that the symbol has become divorced from its origin.

The image on the near left, on a denarius of Hadrian, is an oddity. It is thought to show either Abundantia or Annona, goddess of Rome's corn supply. These two are sometimes hard to distinguish because they were both used to indicate that there was no shortage of grain being imported into the city. Her foot rests on a modius, a container used as a standard corn measure, and her cornucopia is in her left arm.

The real mystery is the object she carries in her right hand, which is usually either described as a "hook" or just left as a question mark. On many coins it is more curved at the end than on this example, and it is possible that it is supposed to represent a pruning hook, suggesting the existence of vineyards.

The Cornucopia on Roman Coins

he Cornucopia was probably the most commonly used symbol on Imperial denarii. (Branches were also very common, but they could mean several different things, as shown on my branches page, and the cornucopia had only one meaning.)

Here is a selection of other personifications and representations demonstrating the variety of situations in which it was used.

On the far left is Concordia on a denarius of the younger Faustina. She is seated on a throne which has a cornucopia for an arm, with the tip of the cornucopia resting on a globe, showing that concord comes with all the riches of the world. Next to it, this jaunty Providentia on a denarius of Elagabalus, holding her wand over a globe at her feet an leaning at ease on a column, is saying that the forethought of the gods provides bounty for men.

On the denarius of Crispina on the near right, cheerfulness is personified by Hilaritas, holding a victor's palm frond and the cornucopia of abundance. On the antoninianus of Philip I to the far right, Annona represents the arrival of the annual corn supply to Rome. She stands with a cornucopia in one arm, and with the other she holds ears of corn over the prow of a galley, which would have brought Egypt's corn harvest to Rome.

On the far left, another antoninianus of Philip I, this one showing Aequitas, the spirit of fairness, ready to distribute her goods with absolute equality with the help of her scales. The identical depiction on the large bronze follis of Diocletian next to it is labelled Moneta, personification of coinage and an aspect of Juno, in whose temple in Rome a mint was established. Obviously, money had to be weighed out and distributed fairly.

Two billon antoniniani of Claudius II showing the overflowing cornucopia. Laetitia, on the near right, personifies joyfulness. On the far right, Liberalitas with her counting-board celebrates a gift of money from the emperor to his people.

On the far left, a denarius of Geta showing Felicitas, personifying happiness and good fortune. Next to it, Uberitas on an antoninianus of Trajan Decius, personifying fertility and fruitfulness. There were many reverse types that signified happiness, wealth and all good things. This is not so much because life was like that .. more because the emperor wanted people to associate these pleasant things with his reign.

These are chunky and thick Alexandrian tetradrachms of Diocletian and Maximianus. Diocletian is on the near right with a reverse showing Tyche, the Greek version of Fortune, usually referring to the successful completion of a journey; this is the Tyche who protected the emperor on his travels. Maximianus, on the far right, has a reverse showing Homonoia, the Greek version of concord and harmony.

Two less usual reverses demonstrate that the cornucopia was tempting imagery in all sorts of contexts. On the far left, Honos, personification of honour, on a denarius of Marcus Aurelius. On the near left, on a denarius of Hadrian, a personification of Italy, naturally overflowing with riches. Unfortunately, the hole through this coin took out part of Italia's head, but it did give it a place in one of my holed coins galleries.

o, we can learn from this that the Romans had a very good idea of the purpose of the Cornucopia, and that Sellar and Yeatman were talking through their hats!

The content of this page was last updated on 14 March 2009.