#31 - Unicorns

Unicorn Original Illustration Print by DanaChangingArt on Etsy, $20

I've often wondered where we came up with unicorns. I mean, my whole life I've hoped they are real and a little part of me still believes they are. ;) Surely they existed at some point? If not, then what are they based on? So I did some research...

Unicorns are said to be a mythical creature. However, many cave paintings (in France) and aboriginal paintings (in South America) depict a horse-like animal with a single horn. Marco Polo even said he saw a unicorn and that they were ugly creatures. The unicorn he described is nothing like the unicorn depictions we see today. He said unicorns had a head like a boar, hair like a buffalo, a single black horn in the center of its head  and feet like an elephant.

Alexander the Great claimed he rode a unicorn in battle. Julius Caesar reported he saw a unicorn in the forest in Germany. A unicorn supposedly appeared to Confucius's mother foretelling his birth then appeared to Confucius himself foretelling his death.  Here's one of Confucius's well known quotes:

Confucius Print by CuckooClick on Etsy, $9

In China, the unicorn is seen as a good omen and will only appear to humans when it has important information. The Chinese believe the unicorn disappears when the world is suffering difficult times.

The unicorn has always been associated with mystical powers. It is said to have the strength to kill an elephant. Unicorns are also said to be able to tell truth from lies and will pierce a liar through the heart. Unicorn horns were sold for medicinal use in many places. However, these turned out to be mostly cow or goat horns. Queen Elizabeth I supposedly owned a unicorn horn.

If unicorns did exist, they are thought to be one of the earth's lost species. Of the estimated 4 billion species once on earth, about 99% of them are now extinct (Barnosky et al, 2011). (I'm a science nerd by day and couldn't resist the urge to use that well known theory to support the fact that maybe unicorns existed and are now extinct...a little nerdiness for you there.).

So, maybe unicorns did exist? I choose to believe they did. :) Do you?

Believe in Unicorns Shirt by BluebeardStudio, $21

References:

Has the Earth's sixth mass extinction already arrived?

Barnosky AD, Matzke N, Tomiya S, Wogan GO, Swartz B, Quental TB, Marshall C, McGuire JL, Lindsey EL, Maguire KC, Mersey B, Ferrer EA.

Nature. 2011 Mar 3;471(7336):51-7. doi: 10.1038/nature09678. Review.