All things take place by change

Observe constantly that all things take place by change, and accustom thyself to consider that the nature of the Universe loves nothing so much as to change the things which are and to make new things like them. For everything that exists is in a manner the seed of that which will be.  Marcus Aurelius.  Meditations.  Book 4.

Image:  Mosaic of Tyche, of Beit She'an, ancient Scythopolis, in the northern district of Israel, wearing a crown with the town's walls, and holding a Cornucopia, with a Phoenix tree in it.  The site was originally settled during the Late Neolithic and Early Chalcolithic periods and continued during the Bronze Age.  During the 15th century BCE the site was conquered by Pharaoh Thutmose III and became an Egyptian military and administration center. But Beit She'an was destroyed during  the Assyrian conquest of the Levant by Tiglath-Pileser III in 732 BCE.   During the Hellenistic Period, the site was reoccupied by Scythian mercenaries who settled there as veterans, hence the name change to Scythopolis.  After Pompey made Judea part of the Roman empire in 63 BCE, Beit She'an was again rebuilt by Gabinius and became the leading city of the Decapolis.  The city flourished under the "Pax Romana", as evidenced by high-level urban planning and extensive construction, including the best preserved Roman theatre of ancient Samaria, as well as a hippodrome, a cardo and other trademarks of the Roman influence.  Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons contributor Yuvalif.  Image digitally adjusted for perspective.

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The cornucopia in Greco-Roman mythology

Bronze repoussé relief  from a hydria (water jar), fragments of which were found with the relief 325-300 BCE from Chalke, near Rhodes. Dionysos holds a cornucopia as an offering to Ariadne of prosperity and abundance while Ariadne signals her acceptance by holding back her veil. Photographed at the British Museum.

Mythology offers multiple explanations of the origin of the cornucopia. One of the best-known involves the birth and nurturance of the infant Zeus, who had to be hidden from his devouring father Cronus. In a cave on Mount Ida on the island of Crete, baby Zeus was cared for and protected by a number of divine attendants, including the goat Amaltheia ("Nourishing Goddess"), who fed him with her milk. The suckling future king of the gods had unusual abilities and strength, and in playing with his nursemaid accidentally broke off one of her horns, which then had the divine power to provide unending nourishment, as the foster mother had to the god.

In another myth, the cornucopia was created when Heracles (Roman Hercules) wrestled with the river god Achelous and ripped off one of his horns (river gods were sometimes depicted as horned).

The cornucopia became the attribute of several Greek and Roman deities, particularly those associated with the harvest, prosperity, or spiritual abundance, such as personifications of Earth (Gaia or Terra), the child Plutus, god of riches and son of the grain goddess Demeter, the nymph Maia, and Fortuna, the goddess of luck, who had the power to grant prosperity. In Roman Imperial cult, abstract Roman deities who fostered peace (pax Romana) and prosperity were also depicted with a cornucopia, including Abundantia, "Abundance" personified, and Annona, goddess of the grain supply to the city of Rome. Even Hades, the classical ruler of the underworld in the mystery religions, was a giver of agricultural, mineral and spiritual wealth, and in art often holds a cornucopia.

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