Greek

Horns of Plenty

From Zeus, to the arts, to Thanksgiving the cornucopia has long represented abundance.

The horn of plenty, aka the cornucopia, is a horn filled with harvested foods. Fruits, vegetables, nuts, and even flowers are seen spilling over out of the horn as a symbol of abundance and good fortune.

Greek and Roman cornucopias — The original cornucopias were Greek and spread across the ancient world.

Greece Lightning

The cornucopia (from the Latin “cornu” for horn and “copia” for abundance) like many Roman things came from the Greeks. When the Greek god Zeus was born he was hidden away by his mother Rhea from his father Cronus in a cave on Crete. A prophecy had foretold that one of Cronus’s children would overthrow him and so, to prevent this, he turned to eating his children (in the 19th century this gave us the incredible black painting by Francisco Goya of Cronus’s infanticide & cannibalism).

While being raised in hiding Zeus was tended to by a goat name Amalthea. One day Zeus accidentally broke off one of Amalthea’s horns, a horn which then magically supplied him with an inexhaustible amount of food & drink. The horn of Amalthea was the first cornucopia.

An alternate origin story was of Heracles/Hercules fighting the river god Achelous and tearing off one of his horns. In either case the cornucopia went on to become a symbol associated with several ancient gods in different cultures (Greeks, Romans, Celts) with ties to harvest, prosperity, and abundance.

Cornucopias as a part of Thanksgiving — As symbols of abundance and prosperity cornucopias became associated with Thanksgiving.

Abundance motiff

Because of this association with harvest and abundance it became a part of Thanksgiving. By the 1870s the cornucopia was being used in Thanksgiving art representing the gift of food that the Native Americans provided to the Pilgrims at the first Thanksgiving.

Beyond Thanksgiving the cornucopia can be found around the arts. It’s frequently seen as an embellishment in classical architecture on columns and in friezes. It is also a part of several political emblems such as the coat of arms of both Colombia and Peru as well as the flag of Idaho.

Fruit of the Loom

Outside of Thanksgiving perhaps the most famous use of the cornucopia is in the logo for apparel manufacturer Fruit of the Loom … or is it? While the logo contains fruits & leaves it has never, ever, included a cornucopia. Snopes has a long post debunking this misconception.

The Fruit of the Loom logo is a great example of the Mandela Effect, a psychological phenomenon where people have a collective false memory about something. It’s named for people wrongly thinking Nelson Mandela died in prison in the 1980s. There are lots of examples of the Mandela Effect around pop culture but people misremembering the Fruit of the Loom logo is a classic.

Added info: released in 1972 Black Sabbath has a song called Cornucopia. The song is about how people are easily deceived by wealth and materialism.

Black Sabbath’s Cornucopia is a warning against greed and materialism.

Misirlou

The song about an Egyptian girl that became a surf rock classic.

At its height the Ottoman Empire controlled lands across North Africa, through the Middle East, Asia Minor (modern day Turkey), and up into the Balkans. By the early 20th century the empire had greatly reduced in size but culturally it was still a diverse mix of elements from the lands it once ruled as well as its neighbors. It’s in this environment that Rebetiko music was formed.

Rebetiko is Greek urban music that began in the early 20th century in Asia Minor. It’s a blend of styles pulling from Greek, Turkish, Armenian, Arabian, and Jewish music. It’s been referred to as the Blues of Greece due to its working class origins and its sometimes scandalous themes.

Egyptian Girl

The song Misirlou is a rebetiko song of the early 20th century (its exact origins are unknown). The title is a Greek pronunciation of the Turkish word “Misirli” which translates as “Egyptian girl”. It’s a passionate song about the singer’s longing desire for a beautiful Egyptian girl. Played in the traditional style the Middle Eastern influences are easy to hear. The earliest known recording of the song was by Theodotos Demetriades in 1927. Since then numerous other versions have been recorded in the rebetiko style but the song reached new audiences through 1960s American surf rock.

A traditional arrangement in the rebetiko style of Misirlou.

The King of Surf Guitar

Surf Rock began in the late 1950s in Southern California. It started as instrumental music with lots of reverb, later evolving into vocal surf with bands such as the Beach Boys, Jan and Dean, etc. While a host of bands contributed to the creation of instrumental surf, perhaps the most notable pioneer was Dick Dale aka “The King of the Surf Guitar”.

In 1962 Dale (whose Lebanese-American uncle used to play Misirlou on the oud) recorded an instrumental version of Misirlou, changing the spelling to Miserlou. At a blistering pace of 173 beats per minute (the traditional version is around 78 bpm), Dick Dale’s surf rock version of Miserlou is one of the most famous instrumentals. Miserlou found new fans when it was used in the opening of 1994’s Pulp Fiction. The film brought new life to both Miserlou and Dick Dale’s career.