Amalthea (mythology)

In Greek mythology, Amalthea (Greek Ἀμάλθεια ) or a nymph Amalthea, the god Zeus reared with the milk of a goat. According to other sources, she was the goat itself

Your Comprehensive Horn is known as the symbol of rich abundance, as a cornucopia. Amalthea is also the mother of the shepherd god Pan.

Background

The Titans Cronus had been prophesied that one of his children would dethrone him. Therefore, he ate up all the children, who bore him his wife Rhea. Rhea was very sad, but she did not want to part with Cronus and became pregnant again. Their children were immortal gods that live forever. So Rhea's children continued to live in the belly of her father Kronos. One day, Rhea realized that she was pregnant again and decided to hide. She fled to the island of Crete. There they hid in a cave on Mount Ida. Kronos was quickly suspicious and searched everywhere for her.

Rhea brought the infant Zeus to the world, but after a few days was Kronos front of the cave and demanded that he Rhea surrendering the child. Rhea gave him a wound in bloody diapers stone that Kronos swallowed immediately. Then he demanded that Rhea came away with him. She accompanied him for a while, then she pretended still weak from birth to be and let Kronos precede. Then she ran back. Near the cave played on a creek nymphs who heard the child crying and immediately went into the cave. A nymph had the child back on the arm as Rhea and the Nymphs asked to take care of her son Zeus. She transformed this nymph in a divine goat, so she could feed the baby with milk, nectar and ambrosia.

The beautiful white goat called Amalthea, which means in Greek " divine white goat ". The goat suckled the child with her milk. From their horns Zeus drank nectar and ambrosia. In addition, a swarm of bees brought the baby mountain honey.

Thus Kronos could not hear the baby when it cried, sent Rhea little ghosts that made noise by beating with wooden spoons on pots and pans. However, Kronos became suspicious and wanted to know who caused this noise in the cave. But he did not come in because he was too large. He could only put his head into the cave opening. But before his eyes had adjusted to the darkness, jumped on the goat and gave him a huge push with their horns. In this shock Amalthea lost one of its horns. This horn has become known as the horn of plenty. It was filled again and again with what its owner wanted.

Thanks Amalthea care Zeus soon became so strong that he decided to overthrow the mighty Kronos from his throne. For that he needed allies and met secretly with his mother Rhea, who told him that his best allies will be his brothers and sisters who had Kronos swallowed. The Titan Metis gave Cronus at a festive meal a means so that it vomited and all siblings freed.

Trivia

In the novel, The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle and in the eponymous film, the unicorn is named after the transformation to the people "Lady Amalthea ".