The legend of the Unicorn

The word Unicorn comes from Latin and means “a horn.” This is a literal translation of the word monoceros, with which the Greeks called this elusive creature.

Unicorns have starred in many stories, although their origin is uncertain. In the Middle Ages it was represented as a large white horse with antelope legs, a goat’s beard and a long, straight horn in the middle of its forehead. Later he abandoned these secondary qualities except for the horn on the forehead, the only detail that differentiates him from a normal horse.

As a fabulous animal the history of the Unicorn is difficult to trace. The legends agree that it is a “pure animal”, that is, a creature typical of paradise capable of defeating other stronger animals but with the disadvantage of being “fallen” creatures.

Some maintain that the legend of the Unicorn comes from Greek myths due to a simple association. When the Greeks arrived in India, and perhaps before, they encountered rhinoceroses, whose name means “horn-nosed,” and also hippopotamuses, whose name can be translated as “river horse.” According to these specialists, the first Greek explorers thought that these colossal creatures were horses after all, although at first glance the hypothesis is quite poor unless we think that the Greeks had serious optical deficiencies.

Other conjectures observe that the Unicorns were ultimately a marketing operation. The Nordic people used to hunt seals and some cetaceans and sell their fangs claiming that they were Unicorn horns, a creature that seemed to be marketed very well in Continental Europe, since its medicinal properties were countless. The truth is that the figure of the Unicorn predates the Vikings. His image was found in carvings and bas-reliefs in the Indus Valley with dates that are astonishing for their antiquity.

The first reports about Unicorns that have been preserved come from the Greek doctor Ctesias of Cnidus and date back to the year 400 BC. During a dangerous expedition to India Ctesias reports having seen a strange creature shaped like a horse but with a horn on its forehead. He also clarifies that his eyes are blue and the hair on his head is purplish. The horn, the chronicler reports, was black in the middle, with a red tip and a white base. After this description, Ctesias goes on to detail the medicinal properties of the Unicorn’s horn, and recommends it to treat stomach disorders and even poisoning.

With the arrival of new explorers the Unicorn acquired new and sometimes disconcerting qualities. It was said to have the legs of a deer, the tail of a lion, and its horn began to appear with the spiral features we know today.

The personality of the Unicorn was also the subject of detailed reports. It was explained that it was a taciturn animal, with solitary, fugitive habits, that avoids the presence of man. However, when cornered he is terribly aggressive. These descriptions coincide with that of all the animals recorded by cryptozoology, that is, the study and search for mythical animals, at least for traditional zoology.

Beyond the Greek explorers there is another source for the legend of the Unicorn: the Bible. Some Old Testament translations interpret the Hebrew word Re’ém as “unicorn”; for example in Numbers 23:22:

«God has brought them out of Egypt; He has strength like a unicorn.”

However, the word re’em was also translated as rhinoceros, bull, buffalo, and practically any quadruped animal that could embody some danger. The reason for this confusion is very simple. The first translators of the Old Testament did not know the meaning of the word re’em, that is, wild ox.

Now, the Bible does not speak of Unicorns per se but it does speak of oxen, an animal that in myth always appears stripped of its virile attributes. In other words, neutered. And the Unicorn shares this absence of virility, which in the Middle Ages gave way to a kind of aura of purity and virginity.

The Unicorn began to be persecuted for the magical properties of its horn. That report from Ctesias was highly taken into account in medieval courts, so that almost all kings required it to prepare antidotes for possible poisoning. Additionally, it was believed that the Unicorn’s horn prolonged the life of its wearer, and that ultimately the power of this mythical animal resided there. Those seeking longevity paid small fortunes for apocryphal horns.

Now, it would be fair to ask ourselves how to ingest a horn, and also where they came from. If we take into account the number of kings who testify to having been inoculated with eternal youth by this method, all the plains of Asia should have been covered with herds of Unicorns, something that any sensible Asian will flatly deny us.

Unicorn horns came mainly from rhinoceroses and especially from the tusk of the narwhal, a small cetacean whose males develop long tusks. Eating the horns was even simpler. They were pulverized and mixed with other ingredients and eschatological elements, forming elixirs and ointments with properties that were quite the opposite of those promised by doctors.

Thus, the Unicorn became the most hunted and persecuted mythical creature in history. Neither before nor after was there a legendary animal with more reports of sightings. In fact, the Unicorn hunting method was documented and strictly followed by specialists.

Being a pure animal, that is, a symbol of virginity, the only way to attract a Unicorn was through the effluvia of a virgin girl. This made hunting much easier. In general, a virgin was used to attract the beast and tame it with aseptic caresses. Once this effect was achieved, the Unicorn was shot by spears hidden high in the trees, almost always next to the virgin; a collateral victim, if you will, whose closeness was essential to facilitate the effectiveness of the execution.

Fabulous beings of mythology. I Greek mythology.

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