CAPRICORNUS

According to Greek myth, Amalthea was a nymph or the goat of that name who suckled Zeus. The horns of the goat flowed with nectar and ambrosia. Ovid tells how one of the horns broke off and that nymphs filled it with fruit for Zeus, which is the origin of the term ‘cornucopia’ or ‘a horn of plenty’ (see Achelous). Amalthea was turned into the constellation Capricorn (Latin for ‘goat’s horn’) immortalized in the stars for her nurture of the baby Zeus. According to other sources, the goat with the fish’s tail came into being when a goat was chased into the sea by the Titan, Typhon. As soon as it was immersed in the seawater, the goat grew a fish’s tail.