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Abundantia

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Roman personification of abundance

For the Christian saint, seeSaint Abundantia.

Abundantia
Goddess of abundance, money-flow, prosperity, fortune, valuables, and success
A painting of Abundantia made by Peter Paul Rubens
Symbol	Cornucopia

Inancient Roman religion,Abundantia (Latin pronunciation:[abʊnˈdantɪ.a]), also calledCopia,^[1] was a divinepersonification of abundance and prosperity.^[2] The name Abundantia means "abundance" in Latin.^[3] She would help protect your savings and investments.^[4] Abundantia would even assist someone with major purchases.^[4] She was among the embodiments ofvirtues inreligious propaganda that cast theemperor as the ensurer of "Golden Age" conditions.^[5] Abundantia thus figures inart,cult, andliterature, but has littlemythology as such. She may have survived in some form inRoman Gaul andmedieval France. Abundantia would carry acornucopia that was filled with grain and coins.^[4] She would occasionally leave some of her grain or money at someone's house as a gift.^[4]

In Rome

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TheAugustan poet Ovid gives Abundantia a role in the myth ofAcheloüs theriver god, one of whose horns was ripped from his forehead byHercules. The horn was taken by theNaiads and transformed into thecornucopia that was granted to Abundantia.^[6] Otheraetiological myths provide different explanations of the cornucopia's origin.^{[clarification needed]} OnNeronian coinage, she was associated withCeres and equated withAnnona, who embodied thegrain supply.^[5] Like Annona, Abundantia was a "virtue in action" in such locations as theharbor, where grain entered the city.^[5] Coinage inRome depicts her either holding the cornucopia or pouring out the riches contained within the cornucopia. Occasionally she is depicted as holding wheat or standing on a ship. It is unknown what her appearance on ships represents. Abundantia appears on the medals of many emperors. Such asTrajan,Antoninus Pius,Caracalla,Elagabalus,Severus Alexander,Gordian,Decius,Gallienus,Tetricus,Probus,Numerian,Carinus,Carus,Diocletian, andGalerius.^[7] She appears alongside one of several inscriptions: Abundantia, Abundantia Perpetua, Augustorum Nostrorum, Augustorum Augg NN, and Augustia Aug.^[7]Mithraic iconography on avase fromLezoux, in theRoman province ofGallia Aquitania depicts this deity seating, and holding a cornucopia as a symbol of "the abundance that stems from Mithras' act".^[8]

Possible survivals

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It has been suggested that theGallic goddess Rosmerta had a functional equivalence to Abundantia, but the two are neverdirectly identified in inscriptions.^[9]William of Auvergne (d. 1249), abishop of Paris, mentions a Domina Abundia ("Mistress Abundia"), who also appears in theRoman de la Rose as "Dame Habonde." The bishop derives her name fromabundantia. At night thedominae enter houses where offerings have been set out for them. They eat and drink from the vessels, but the contents are undiminished.^[10] If they are pleased, they bring prosperity and fertility. William regarded these practices as a form ofidolatry.^[11]Folklorists of the 19th century saw these figures asCeltic fairies.^[12]

Nicholas of Cusa reports that on his travels through theFrench Alps in 1457, he met two old women who told him they were in the service of Domina Abundia. They identified themselves asapostate Christians, and had been imprisoned forwitchcraft. Nicholas felt that they had been deluded by thedevil, but should be allowed to receivepenance rather thanburning at the stake.^[13]

Later art and allegory

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In laterWestern art, Abundantia is often portrayed holding her cornucopia and sheaves of corn or wheat.^[14]

References

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^Joseph Spence.Polymetis: Or, An Enquiry Concerning the Agreement Between the Works of the Roman Poets, and the Remains of the Antient Artists: Being an Attempt to Illustrate Them Mutually from One Another. In Ten Books. R. Dodsley, 1747, p. 148.
^Jordan, Michael (2004).A Dictionary of Gods and Goddesses (2, Illustrated ed.). Facts on File.ISBN 9780816059232.
^Lewis, Charleston T. (1890).An Elementary Latin Dictionary. New York, Cincinnati, and Chicago: American Book Company.ISBN 9781614274933.
^^a ^b ^c ^dVirtue, Doreen (2005).Goddesses and Angels. United States of America: Hay House. p. 215.ISBN 978-1-4019-0473-9.
^^a ^b ^cJ. Rufus Fears, "The Cult of Virtues and Roman Imperial Ideology,"Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt II.17.2 (1981), p. 812.
^Ovid,Metamorphoses; 9.87–88, as cited by Fears, p. 821.
^^a ^bUniversal Technological Dictionary Volume 1. London: Baldwin. 1823.
^Manfred Claus,The Roman Cult of Mithras: The God and His Mysteries, translated by Richard Gordon (Routledge, 2000, originally published 1990 in German), p. 118.
^Paul-Marie Duval, "Rosmerta,"American, African, and Old European Mythologies (University of Chicago Press, 1993), p. 221.
^Edward Burnett Tylor, excerpt fromPrimitive Culture, inUnderstanding Religious Sacrifice: A Reader (Continuum, 2003, 2006), p. 22.
^Alan E. Bernstein, "The Ghostly Troop and the Battle over Death: William of Auvergne (d. 1249),"Rethinking Ghosts in World Religions (Brill, 2009), p. 144.
^Benjamin Thorpe,Northern Mythology (London, 1861), vol. 1, p. 281;Jacob Grimm,Teutonic Mythology (English translation London, 1880), pp. 283–288.
^Hans Peter Broedel,The Malleus Maleficarum and the Construction of Witchcraft: Theology and Popular Belief (Manchester University Press, 2003), p. 109.
^Jürg Meyer zur Capellen,Raphael: The Roman Religious Paintings, ca. 1508-1520 (Arcos, 2005), p. 264.