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Abundantia, also known as Abundita or Copia, is the personification of abundance, money-flow, prosperity, fortune, valuables, and success, in Roman mythology. She was believed to help guard your savings and assist you in major purchases. Abundantia carries a cornucopia, filled with grain and money. Legend said that she might leave you some grain or money at your house as a gift.

In mythology[]

The Augustan poet Ovid gives Abundantia a role in the myth of AcheloĆ¼s the river god, one of whose horns was ripped from his forehead by Hercules. The horn was taken by the Naiads and transformed into the cornucopia that was granted to Abundantia. Other aetiological myths provide different explanations of the cornucopia's origin. On Neronian coinage, she was associated with Ceres and equated with Annona, who embodied the grain supply. Like Annona, Abundantia was a "virtue in action" in such locations as the harbor, where grain entered the city. Coinage in Rome depicts her either holding the Cornucopia or pouring out the riches contained within the Cornocopia. Occasionally she is depicted as holding wheat or standing on a ship. It is unknown what her appearance on ships represents. This could symbolize the wealth the conquests of the Rome brought to the Empire. Abundantia appears on the medals of many emperors. Such as Trajan, Antoninus Pius, Caracalla, Elagabalus, Severus Alexander, Gordian, Decius, Gallienus, Tetricus, Probus, Numerian, Carinus, Carus, Diocletian, and Galerius. She appears alongside one of several inscriptions: Abundantia, Abundantia Perpetua, Augustorum Nostrorum, Augustorum Augg NN, and Augustia Aug. Mithraic iconography on a vase from Lezoux, in the Roman province of Gallia Aquitania depicts this deity seating, and holding a cornucopia as a symbol of "the abundance that stems from Mithras' act." Abundantia was depicted on a fountain in Pompeii.

This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at Abundantia (view authors). As with Myth and Folklore Wiki, the text of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License 3.0 (Unported).
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