The healing miraculous powers of the unicorn are considered general knowledge in the Middle Ages. On the healing effects of the horn and clever vikings 1500 Historical Museum ), Illustration: Deutsches Dokumentationszentrum für Kunstgeschichte - Bildarchiv Foto Marburg (Rechte vorbehalten - Freier Zugang) Wildweibchenteppich, um 1500, Standort Historisches Museum (Basel) (Wild Woman Carpet, ca. Repeatedly copied and translated, the Physiologus is a work that links Greek natural history with Christian teachings. In addition to the mention of the unicorn in the Old Testament, the focus is on the Physiologus, a scripture originally written in Greek, which was written in the 2nd to 4th centuries and, in addition to the Bible, represents one of the most important texts of Christianity. Nevertheless, the further cultural history of the unicorn owes itself to the Greeks and Romans. Not once does it appear next to numerous ancient mythical animals such as Pegasus or Minotaurus. The unicorn was categorically disdained by Greek and Roman mythology. What does the Virgin Mary have to do with the unicorn? – Christianity and the Unicorn © SLUB / Deutsche Fotothek (SLUB/German Photo Library) (Rechte vorbehalten - Freier Zugang) Eland (Eland, Taurotragus oryx PALL.), bull lying down, 1930, Erna Mohr (photographer).
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The profile view confirms the impression, but the antelope has two horns. Researchers who went in search of a real model for the unicorn recognised in the Oryx astonishing similarities to the described appearance of a unicorn: horse-like, with a twisted horn. Although they all attest only limited credibility to Ctesias and his travelogue of India, they still repeat his statements centuries later and contribute to the spread of the story of a horned animal with healing powers. Ktesias is quoted by subsequent scribes such as Aristotle, Aelian, and Pliny the Elder. In the traditional fragments of the work Indica, a travelogue of the Greek physician Ktesias of Knidos (5th to 4th century BC), the unicorn (ancient Greek μονόκερως monókeros) is mentioned for the first time: A noble animal with a single horn on its forehead, which possesses magic powers and protects against poisoning, which is why Ktesias recommends producing a drinking vessel from the horn. It may not be a coincidence that the earliest written mention of unicorns that can be read also leads to the Indian subcontinent. Because not only is the unicorn itself a mystery, but also the writing on the seals: to this day, no one has succeeded in deciphering the characters of the Indus culture.Īn over 4,000-year-old seal with bull-like unicorn from the Indus culture: seal with unicorn, 2,000 BC, Museum für Asiatische Kunst, Staatliche Mussen zu Berlin (Museum of Asian Art, Berlin State Museums) (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 DE) However, there is no reliable evidence as to its meaning. From the Indus culture, which flourished in the 3rd millennium BC, clay seals have been preserved that depict a one-horned, ox-like creature. The earliest pictorial evidence of this proud, noble animal, which in the traditions sometimes resembles more a horse or donkey, and other times an ox or deer, can be found in today's northern India. Join us on a journey from antiquity to Greta Thunberg!Įarliest finds and traditions of the unicorn – also a question of perspective
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Using selected objects from Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek (German Digital Library), this article traces the unlikely history of the unicorn and collects legends and myths surrounding this peculiar mythical animal. If you look past the world of cotton candy and the contemporary phenomenon, you will quickly notice that the unicorn experienced glorious times even before its current popularity and has been accompanying and fascinating humanity – across continents and cultures – for thousands of years.
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Raphael (1483 – 1520), Dame mit Einhorn (Lady with Unicorn)(Maddalena Strozzi?), Galleria Borghese (Rome), Deutsches Dokumentationszentrum für Kunstgeschichte - Bildarchiv Foto Marburg (German Documentation Centre for Art History - image archive photo Marburg) (Rechte vorbehalten - Freier Zugang)