Unicorn Legends, Information and Facts

Unicorns are usually portrayed as a beautiful white horse (or goat sometimes) with a long sharp horn on the forehead. Unicorn is known to have a head of a deer, the beard of a goat, the tail of a lion, the body of a horse and cloven hooves. The color of its fur varies from story to story, it is described sometimes as pure white but there are also black with wings so that it can fly. Very often, this unicorn is not a normal horse but has unique and extraordinary features such as split hooves or a lion’s tale.

In the West, unicorn is a symbol of faithfulness and purity and was thought to be untamable, very strong and fast. According to some stories, unicorns could be captured only by virgins. If the maiden who approach them was pretending to be a virgin, the unicorn would kill her.

The horn of the unicorn is wound around itself and has a sharp end. The color of the horn is usually white and can reach a length of about half a meter. According to some stories, unicorn used its horn to fight against its enemy such as the dragons or other enemies. In medieval times, unicorn was known to be the size of a goat or donkey. The horn of unicorn has a special magic that can raise the death. Although the unicorn’s horn is strong, it can also break and when that happens it will take about 10 years to grow back. The unicorn’s horn is also known to possess some healing abilities such as neutralizing poison.

The tears of the unicorn can be used to heal somebody who has been turned into stone. When the blood of the unicorn is drunk, it can make that person to live forever, but in return he or she will lead an eternal miserable life. According to some stories, these mythical creatures could turned deserts into beautiful flowering oasis by simply crossing the deserted territory.

Aboriginal paintings found in South America and South Africa are said to be unicorns, since they look like no other animal. The unicorn is believed by a South American scientist to be one of South America’s “lost” species (as he stated that in 1977), hunted out of existence in pre-history. But since there is no certain hard-core evidence and lack of fossil records, most scientist believe these creatures have never existed. Marco Polo is not the only person to have “encountered” a unicorn but Julius Caesar and Alexander the Great are the other two who claimed to had seen these mythical creatures.