Copia is the Roman Goddess of Abundance. Her name means just
that, "abundance" or "plenty", with additional meanings
of "resources", "wealth", and "opportunity". She
is one of many Roman Goddesses who represent a deified quality, such as Concordia,
Goddess of Harmony, or Aequitas, Equity. Copia was
most often shown with the cornucopia, or "horn of plenty",
a great goat's horn overflowing with fruits and wealth, the magic horn that
gives all one could desire.
In southern Italy there was a town called Sybaris, which had
been settled by the Greeks in the 8th century BCE as part of their colony called
Magna Graecia ("Great Greece"). Sybaris was famous in the Greek world
for the luxurious habits of its people; the land there was at the time very
fertile and the people thrived to a point where the word "sybarite"
has become synonymous for a person who loves luxury and sensual pleasures. The
city was built not far from a river of the same name, though the city itself
was on the Crathis River. The Sybaris River (or the Crathis) was credited with
some unusual qualities by the ancientsit was said that the water would
turn the pelts of cows and sheep black, although the effect on human hair was
to change its color to white or yellow. Some refer to this result as "gilding"
the hair, which makes it sound like the river ran with gold dust; but perhaps
it was something to do with the chemical composition of the water, which in
effect bleached hair. It was also said that the waters made horses sneeze, and
that animals who drank from it would become timid. All of that can however be
taken as metaphors for the city and how its people were regarded; as timid,
vain (bleached hair), rich, and unmanly; though there must have been some acknowledgement
of the positives of luxury, as the waters of the Crathis were also said to have
healing properties.
Sybaris was demolished only 200 years after its founding by an
army from the neighboring city of Crotona, who went as far as diverting the
Crathis to flow over its ruins, effectively preventing immediate resettlement.
What's all this got to do with our Abundance Goddess, Copia? Well, several hundred
years later, when the Romans established a colony at the old site of Sybaris,
they acknowledged its past reputation by naming the city Copia.
Copia is associated with Fortuna,
who also carries a cornucopia; and the Goddess Abundantia
is closely related conceptually.