The word unicorn comes from the Latin for 'one-horned' and refers to an imaginary beast that appears in the legends of China, India, Mesopotamia., and Europe.Since medieval times the unicorn has often been portrayed as a horse with a single horn growing from its forehead. Descriptions of the animal in various sources differ somewhat, but they all agree on the horn.

If the mention of unicorns conjures up

images of radiant white horses with a

flowing manes and a single horn in the

• Jun 12, 2008  While unicorn legend evolved in the West, in the Far East, similar creatures developed in mythology. The Japanese unicorn, or kirin (after which the beer is.
• The exhibition Search for the Unicorn contained a wide selection of works surrounding the myth, and held not only the famous tapestries themselves but donations from other public and private collections, making it one of the most in-depth explorations into the history of the unicorn in history.

middle of the forehead, you may be

surprised to learn that that is only one

version of this mythical creature. The

legendary unicorn from some cultures

bears little resemblance to the popular

fairytale version depicted in children’s

stories and videos in the U.S.

Unicorns in Chinese Mythology

The unicorn called Qilin has held a

place in ancient Chinese mythology

since the time of Confucius. It is

believed to be one of the nine mythic

monsters who were sons of a dragon

with the ability to tell good from evil.

This unicorn has the head of a dragon,

blue and green scaly skin, cloven

hooves and the tail of a bear. This

unicorn often had more than one horn.

It is believed to live for 2000 years or more.

Although it has changed symbolism

over time, it was originally portrayed

as a kind and loving creature that fed

on magical grasses, walked on water

and even flew. It also had the mysterious

ability to walk on grass without crushing

the blades. Its image was carved on

gravestones to assist the dead to

heaven and to ward off evil spirits.

The Chinese believe that Qilin can

only be seen by ‘chosen ones’ and

only appears during the reign of

superior rulers. It is also believed to

carry extraordinary children on its back

transporting them from heaven to their

earthly parents.Today, Qilin represents

strength and power. It is used in Feng Shui

to attract wealth and to eliminate negativity.

It is also thought to help women who desire

a child. Overall, it is seen as a good omen

that brings joy, wisdom and long life.

Myth of the Turkish Unicorn

One of the largest and most ferocious of

all the UNICORN-like animals found across

the globe, the Karkadann was said to

stalk the arid flatlands and deserts of

India, Persia and northern Africa in

search of fresh meat. The name Karkadann

is a variation of the Sanskrit 'Kartajan',

which means roughly 'Lord of the Desert'.

This kingly appellation as also been

translated as Karkadan, Karkadanno,

Karmadan, and Cartazoon.

This supposedly fearless predator

(which has been known to be able to take

down elephants) has been described as

Legends Of Tomorrow Unicorn Episode

being as large as a bull, with a wolf-like

visage, and two horns protruding from its

skull. The first horn, which is said to resemble

an ivory spike, sticks straight up from the

Karkadann's cranium, and is apparently

used to attack its quarry.

The second horn is a curved, bone-like tusk,

which juts out from just above the animal's

nose, and is reportedly employed primarily

for self defense. In the 4th century BC, Greek

physician and historian, Ctesias,

described the animal thusly:

'Their bodies are white, their heads dark red

and their eyes dark blue. They have a horn

on the forehead that is about a foot and

a half in length.... The animal is exceedingly

swift and powerful, so that no creature,

neither the horse nor any other, can overtake it.'

Although the Karkadann is an undeniably

ruthless predator, it was said that a bird

known as the ringdove was able to charm

the savage beast. Legend has it that this

fearless little bird would perch upon the

Karkadann's horn and sing its song, much

to the apparent delight of its canine host.

Ancient historians claimed that the Karkadann

so favored these birds that it would often

make its home near their nest, and with an

almost maternal instinct, protect these tiny

avian divas from any potential harm.

Medieval Unicorns

The medieval unicorn myth likely gave

rise to the western version of the unicorn.

Because the unicorn was mentioned in

the Bible, people of that time naturally

assumed it was a real animal. (Scientists

now believe the unicorn of the Bible was

actually a type of wild ox.) It was included

with other beasts in a book called The

Physiologus, which listed and

described existing animals.

Legend Of The Unicorn

To please the church, each animal was

given human traits and served as an allegory

for Biblical teaching. The unicorn was

portrayed as untamable and uncatchable,

except by a virgin. According to The

Physiologus, a unicorn was attracted to

the purity and innocence of a virgin and

would come to lay its head in her lap.

The unicorn soon became associated with

Christ and the Virgin Mary, which in turn led

to the symbolism of unicorns as pure and

gentle creatures able to discern truth.The

belief that the unicorn horn possessed

magical powers soon spread through

medieval Europe. Drinking from the

horn or ingesting the powdered horn

was thought to cure disease combat

poison.One of the most famous depiction

of medieval unicorns is still accessible

today through seven tapestries known

as “The Unicorn Tapestries” or “The

Hunt for the Unicorn” cycle.

Unicorns in Greek Mythology

Surprisingly, myths and legends of unicorns

have no part in Greek mythology. Unicorns

are not associated with Greek gods and

goddesses. However, a Greek doctor named

Ctesias gave us the first written description

of this mythical creature after visiting Persia

and hearing the stories from Indian travelers.

According to Ctesias, the unicorn was a

massive beast with a white body as big as

a horse, a red head and single horn in

the middle of the forehead.

An Evolving Mythical Creature

Some unicorn enthusiasts claim that to

avoid the hunters that threatened the

unicorn’s existence on earth; the unicorn

took to the sea. In order to survive in the

watery world, it evolved to become the

narwhal, a whale-like creature from the

arctic with one long horn in the middle

of its forehead. The narwhal’s horn is

actually an elongated tooth used to break

the ice during mating. Ironically, narwhal

‘horns’ were often sold as unicorn

horns in medieval times.

A Myth Is Born

The myth of the unicorn may have

come from sightings of antelope

and such ungulates with only one

horn, having either been born with

the defect or lost the horn when

scrapping with a predator or one

of its own kind. Less likely still is

seeing a normal antelope from afar

in profile, since that would only

last as long as the animal didn’t move.

A far more likely culprit is the Indian

rhinoceros, and clues for this are

sprinkled throughout the early accounts

—indeed, the unicorn is sometimes

referred to as the Indian ass.for

instance, mentions that the unicorn

has “the feet of an elephant,” a rhino’s

feet in fact being not hooved like a

Legends Of Tomorrow Unicorn Wikia

horse’s, but fleshy like an elephant’s.

He also notes that it has “the tail of a boar,”

much like a rhino’s, “and a single black

horn three feet long in the middle of its

forehead.” Writers would only later

describe the horn as white.

The ancient Greeks and Romans, you

see, had been making forays into India

and bringing back tales of the strange

Legends Of Tomorrow Unicorn Kill

beasts there, and the facts tended to

get a bit…lost. Cotton, for instance, was

said to grow in India as an actual lamb

that sprouted from the ground, just hanging

there patiently producing cotton. And

while Pliny actually did a pretty good job

of describing the rhino, his popularization

Legends Of Equestria Unicorn

of the “unicorn” picked up more and more

improbabilities as the centuries wore on.

We also know that the ancient Chinese had

Legend Of The Unicorn Scotland

contact with rhinos from art made out of

their horns, so the animal could well

have also inspired the kirin.

Today, the unicorn is a decidedly more magical,

gentle creature, running around on rainbows

and inspiring millions with regular appearances

in My Little Pony and the occasional acid

trip and in North Korea, apparently. I’d recommend

against heading over to Pyongyang to find one,

though. Maybe just stick to the acid.

:green_heart: :green_heart: Article and Pictures are not mine :green_heart: :green_heart:

Helpful Links

What may be causing this?

• You are attempting to access this page via a Webhosting Account
• Scripted access to public pages is not allowed.
• You are accessing the web via a proxy.
• If you are using a public proxy, you may wish to switch to another or disable it. If you believe your ISP is using a transparent proxy, please let us know.
• You or someone on your network is running a bot to crawl our site.
• Please contact your Network Administrator if you believe this to be the case.

We just need you to confirm that you are a person and not a robot.