The unicorn is a mythological creature that has been spoken and written about since the origins of man. Some of the earliest written accounts date back to the 5th century BC. A Greek physician named Ctesias traveled to the Persian Empire's capital of Persepolis where he spent seventeen years at the court of Darius II . He often listened to tales told by travelers and traders from the caravans from Asia. Upon his return to Greece he wrote of the tales he had heard. One that made a strong impression to his readers was his description of a unicorn. Ctesias wrote, There are in India certain wild asses which are as large as horses or larger. Their bodies are white, their heads dark red, and their eyes dark blue. They have a horn in the middle of the forehead that is about a foot and a half in length. The base of the horn is pure white; the upper part is sharp and a vivid crimson; and the remainder, or middle portion, is black. Ctesias also wrote of the medicinal powers the unicorn's horn was said to possess. Powder filed from the horn was supposed to protect against deadly poisons. He ended his description saying the animal is exceedingly swift and powerful, so much so that no creature, neither horse nor any other, can overtake it. This is the first known written account of the unicorn.
The name unicorn is derived from the Latin unicornis which means "one-horned". This is the name that such creatures were known by in Europe and America. They had other names in the Middle East and Far East. In China the unicorn was known as Ki-lin which is a combination of their words for the male unicorn, Ki, and their word for the female unicorn, lin. In Arabia and Persia the unicorn was known as the Karkadann.
There is even a dinosaur unicorn. A large plant eating animal whose scientific name is Monoclonius nasicornus. It roamed the uplands of northern Asia and North America in the Cretaceous period about 120 million years ago.
By most accounts the unicorn is said to most resemble a horse with a single horn protruding from it's forehead. There are accounts of goat-like and even man-like creatures with a single horn. But by any account the unicorn is thought to be a magical creature with special abilities.
Website Overview
Visit our Unicorns in Tapestries page for a history of unicorns as depicted in tapestries.
Visit our Unicorn Figurine page for history and examples of unicorns in figurines.
Visit our Unicorn Pics page for unicorns in pictures and on plates and other depictions.
Visit our Unicorn Coloring Pages for some pictures you can print and color.
