The first recorded mention of unicorns in Western literature came in the fourth century B.C. Ctesias, a doctor and historian, wrote down tales from Indian travelers and described horse-size "wild asses" with white bodies, blue eyes, red heads and a multicolored horn about 1.5 feet (0.5 meter) long, Time reported in ...
The unicorn myth originated shortly after unidentified horn-like objects, from six to ten feet long, began to appear in ancient European marketplaces. Physicians quickly ascribed outlandish healing properties to these horns, pulverizing them for the treatment of various diseases.
In the fourth century B.C., a Greek physician named Ctesias described an animal that would become known as the unicorn: a large, pale blue-eyed ass with a crimson head and a horn of white, red and black, found only in India.
The legend of the unicorn has been around for over 10,000 years. European and Asian civilizations had mythical versions of the unicorn inspired by single-horned animals found in their land. The European unicorns were inspired by narwhals while the Asian unicorns were inspired by rhinoceroses with long horns.
According to historians, the legend of the unicorn first emerged in 398 BC courtesy of the Greek physician Ctesias. Ctesias wrote an account of India, titled Indica. In it, he attests that all recorded within his account are things that he has witnessed himself or that he has had related to him by credible witnesses.
Unicorns were real and we have the fossils to prove it, although it's not the white horse with a beaming horn you may be thinking of. Elasmotherium sibiricum — better known as the Siberian unicorn — looked more like a rhino than a horse.
The unicorn might not be very old at all, and might have still been kicking until 39,000 years ago. This places its extinction “firmly within the late Quaternary extinction event”, between 50,000 and four thousand years ago, in which nearly half of Eurasian mammalian megafauna died out.
Unicorn Symbolism and Meaning
The unicorn is a symbol of purity and grace. This majestic creature represents all that is good in the world and reminds us that we should strive to be our best selves. Those with the unicorn as their spirit animal are gentle souls who deeply understand the world around them.
With its white horse-like body and single spiralling horn, the unicorn is a symbol of purity, innocence and power in Celtic mythology. Legend also tells that their horns can purify poisoned water, such is the strength of their healing power.
In ancient myths, the unicorn is portrayed as male, whereas in the modern times, it is depicted as a female creature.
Borrowed into English by the early 1200s from French, unicorn comes from the Latin unicornis, “having one horn.” This root joins uni-, meaning “one,” and cornu, “horn.” (The Latin is a loan translation of the Greek monokeros, its equivalent of “one horn” and passing into English as monoceros.)
A winged unicorn (cerapter, flying unicorn, pegacorn, or unisus) is a fictional ungulate, typically portrayed as a horse, with wings like Pegasus and the horn of a unicorn.
The life span of unicorns has never been recorded but is known to surpass 1,000 years. They are believed to maintain their youth until death is only weeks away. The secret to this longevity is the strong magical nature of the horn.
History of the Qilin
The qilin first appeared in the historical record with the Zuo Zhuan, or "Chronicle of Zuo," which describes events in China from 722 to 468 BCE. According to these records, the first Chinese writing system was transcribed around 3000 BCE from the markings on a qilin's back.
The roots of the unicorn myth date back at least as far as 400 BCE, when the Greek historian Ctesias first documented a unicorn-like animal in his writings on the region of India.
Rainbows and unicorns are commonly paired together in modern works. Although the two weren't traditionally linked in older unicorn folklore and mythology, the association does make more than a bit of sense. Both rainbows and unicorns embody beauty, magic, and rarity.
Unicorns have become a symbol of LGBT culture due to earlier associations between the animal and rainbows being extended to the rainbow flag created in 1978 by Gilbert Baker. Alice Fisher of The Guardian wrote in 2017, "The unicorn has also done its bit for the LGBT community in the last century...
The story ends with, "Moral: Don't count your boobies before they're hatched", a play on the popular adage, "Don't count your chickens before they're hatched". Thus, the moral advises not to expect one's hopes to be a certainty.
A stream emerges from the ground at God's feet. The unicorn's horn points towards its clear waters – a reference perhaps to its legendary abilities to purify water. “ A magical creature is likely to have magical powers: unicorn horn is associated with purity.
In very basic terms, a unicorn relationship is when a couple invites another person to join them as a third romantic partner. The connection could be for a single night, or it could be a long-term arrangement that all three enjoy.
New research from paleontologists from Kazakhstan and Russia published in the American Journal of Applied Sciences shows that the now-extinct species Elasmotherium sibiricum -- the "Siberian unicorn" -- possibly lived recently enough to have coexisted with early humans.
The first dubious nod to unicorn mythology comes from the Indus Valley Civilisation, which, together with ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt, formed one of the three powerhouse civilisations of the ancient Near East c. 3000 – 1300 BCE.
But the discovery of a skull in the Pavlodar region of Kazakhstan provides evidence that they only died out about 29,000 years ago. Unfortunately, despite its sizable horn, the “Siberian unicorn” looked more like a rhinoceros than the mythical creature its nickname refers to.
Thanks to a newly discovered skull fossil found in the Pavlodar region of Kazakhstan, we now know that the unicorn — or "Elasmotherium sibiricum" — roamed the planet roughly 29,000 years ago and looked more like a rhinoceros than a horse.
As of July 2023, there are over 1,200 unicorns around the world. Popular former unicorns include Airbnb, Facebook, and Google. Variants include a decacorn, valued at over $10 billion, and a hectocorn, valued at over $100 billion. Download the full list today to see each company's valuation, investors, and more.