CORNU COPIAE  , later CORNUCOPIA (" horn of plenty "), a horn; generally twisted, filled with fruit and flowers, or an ornament representing it . It was used as a symbol of prosperity and abundance, and hence in works of art it is placed in the hands of Plutus, Fortuna and similar divinities (for the mythological account see AMALTHEIA) . The symbol probably originated in the practice of using the horns of oxen and goats as drinking-cups; hence the rhyton (drinking-horn) is often confounded with the cornu copiae . For its representation in works of art, in which it is very common, especially in those belonging to the Roman period, see article in Daremberg and Saglio's Dictionnaire des Antiquites .