Amalthea was the sacred goat who nursed baby Zeus, hidden in a cave on Crete to protect him from his father, the Titan Cronus.

Cronus had overthrown his own father, Uranus, and feared the same fate—so he swallowed each of his children at birth. To save Zeus, his mother Rhea hid him away.

As Zeus grew in secret, Amalthea fed him with her milk. In gratitude, Zeus later turned Amalthea’s broken horn into the Cornucopia—a symbol of endless abundance and divine protection.