Intriguing Unicorns

We have come across and have been fascinated by many imaginary and fictitious animals. As children, we have fantasized about imaginary animals like the fire breathing dragons and the one-horned unicorns. These fictitious animals have been associated with our magic world of fairies, elves and gnomes. However, it is better to refer to an unicorn as a legendary rather than a fictitious animal. This can be said after paintings of one- horned unicorn like creatures have been found in prehistoric cave paintings in certain places

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The popular image of a unicorn is that of a horse, with a single, spiraled horn, emerging from its forehead. The horn and the blood of a unicorn were supposed to have magical powers. Its horn was said to have neutralized poison. Many scientists believe that it is because of this reason, that unicorns were hunted and killed and removed from the face of the earth, in the sixth millennium B.C.

The unicorn or variants of it have been made popular stories across diverse cultures. However, this so-called legendary animal has never been regarded with fear. It has been loved and regarded because of the mysticism surrounding it.

As I have said earlier, unicorns have been found in cave painting, as symbols and also in seals and coins in diverse cultures. In Southern Africa, aboriginal paintings of a one-horned, unicorn like animal have been found in caves in Namaqualand. In France, also cave paintings in Lascaux, of one-horned horses, resembling unicorns,  have been found. An animal in Chinese mythology, called the qirin, have been found, which resembles an unicorn. The Japanese version of the unicorn is called the Kirin and is a derivative of the Qirin. However, the Japanese Kirin resembles a unicorn to a larger extent. There is said to have been passing references of the unicorn, even in the Bible.

In a civilization, as old as that of Indus Valley, unicorn like animals adorn seals and coins. The Alicorn, another variation of the unicorn is said to have had wings. It can be said to be more of a Pegasus like animal. The horns of an alicorn were said to have been made into drinking cups and had been used by kings in India, as they were said to have possessed powers of neutralizing any poison. Unicorn horns were also said to possess aphrodisiac qualities and it was said that unicorns could determine whether a woman was a virgin or not. Another interesting anecdote about the unicorn is that the royal throne of Denmark is made out of the horns of a unicorn. The wild unicorn is said to be tamable only by a virgin woman.

The skeleton of an unicorn was supposed to have been found in the Harz mountains of Germany. This fossiled skeleton of the unicorn showed that it had only two legs, contrary to popular belief. The motifs of the unicorns, in Greek and Roman cultures were said to have been influenced by motifs from India in the medieval times.

Author: Jayeeta Sinha Roy