The unicorn is no doubt one of the most impactful magical creatures of our times. Yes, they might have surfaced from the figments of our imagination, but they hold such a powerful influence in modern folklore. Did you know that the world celebrates the National Unicorn Day every 9th of April? Keeping this in mind, here are some of the most fascinating facts about unicorns!
- Dating back to 15,000 BC, the first so-called unicorn depiction was discovered in France’s Lascaux Caves. That is until people noticed that the drawings in the caves had two horns drawn quite close together. Turns out it wasn’t a unicorn!
- As for the earliest depictions of Unicorns in the Western Society, they go back to the 5th BC written by Ctesisas, a Greek philosopher. He vividly describes the creatures as having blue eyes, an all-white body, a head with a shade of purple, and a horn boasting numerous colors.
- While traveling in foreign lands, merchant Marco Porlo believed he actually came across unicorns. In his journal, he describes the unicorns as ugly repulsive brutes with no manners. He boldly claims that they are nothing like the descriptions served by previous writers. Unfortunately, Marco had no idea he was referring to rhinoceroses!
- According to legend, when Genghis Khan was moving to conquer India, he came across a unicorn that acknowledged him as king and bowed down to him. Taking it as a divine sign from his deceased father, he changed his mind on conquering India and turned his army back.
- The Dark Ages was a time when scientific enlightenment was suppressed and superstition took center-stage in virtually every facet of daily living. As such, a book known as the bestiaries was written which documented the various properties of different animals and their daily use. Unicorns were among them, and it was believed that virgins had spellbinding power over unicorns.
- The Old Testament of the King James Version bible allegedly makes references to unicorns about nine times. Unfortunately, it was discovered that the references were a mistranslation of the word re’em. The actual word was rimu, an Assyrian word referring to an ox that is now extinct.
- Legend had it that unicorn horns had the power to instantly purify water and counter the effects of poison. This resulted in numerous counterfeits being made from the single tooth of whales and sold as unicorn horns.
- During the Dark Ages, a Unicorn Horn was believed to be 10 times the worth of its weight when measured against gold. In 1560, a few lucky German merchants even sold a unicorn horn to the Pope for about 18,000 pounds at the time!
- Unicorn popularity made its way to royalty, with the most famous being two coins called the half-unicorn and the unicorn during the reign of King James III of Scotland.
- With the last fact being more of a fun-filled activity rather than a historical recording, unicorn hunters can search for unicorns at the Lake Superior State University after being issued permits by the institution!
