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Achelous
Achelous, the horned king of Euphrates and the oldest of the male Oceanids
(see Poseidon, Oceanus, and Tethys),
once wrestled with Heracles, the greatest of Greek heroes, over a woman both
desired for a bride. "They came together..." wrote the 5th-century
B.C. Greek dramatist Sophocles in his play The Women of Trachis. "Then
was there confusion of sounds—the beating of fists, the twang of bow, the
clash of bull's horns; there were the wrestling holds, the painful collision of
heads, and the groans of both." In the struggle, during which Achelous
transformed himself into a bull, Heracles broke off one of Achelous's horns
(shown here on top of his forehead). But later a victorious Heracles returned
the horn to him. In exchange, Achelous gave Heracles the miraculous horn of
Amalthea, which provided its owner with all the food and drink he could want.
This was the cornu copiae, or horn of plenty.
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