The maiden goddess Epona is usually portrayed as riding a white mare sometimes with a foal, or standing surrounded by horses. Her symbol is the Cornucopia ("horn of plenty"), which suggests that she may have been honored as a fertility goddess, although she is most commonly known as a goddess of horses and travel. She fed her beloved horses from her cornucopia filled with corn and apples, symbolic of mother-love and abundance. From the Iron Age, the Celtic goddess’ faith spread across the whole of ancient Europe, eventually being embraced by the Romans and to a certain extent, Christianity. Epona had a shrine in almost every stable of the Roman Empire - in fact, she was the only Celtic goddess to be honored by the Romans with a temple in their capital city. Her annual festival in Roman times was around the 18th December (in Mantua/Italy), when her images in shrines and stables were draped in rose garlands. Epona and her white mare accompany the souls of those fallen in battle on its final journey to the other world, and in life she is associated with the white mare that brings dreams.