On November 30 , 2012 , the Korean Central News Agency , North Korea ’s authorities “ news program ” agency , reported that scientist had “ reconfirmed”the existence and location of the final resting situation of the unicorn ridden by King Dongmyeong , the founding father of Goguryeo of an ancient Korean kingdom . The unicorn ’s grave was located under a rock near the North Korea Washington of Pyongyang with an engraving that read “ Unicorn ’s den . ”
https://gizmodo.com/north-korean-archeologists-discover-ancient-unicorn-lai-5964719
Like many supposed news reports that come out of North Korea these twenty-four hour period , this reported evidence that a mythical tool like the unicorn once live was mostly ignored and laughed at by the world ’s science community of interests . After all , this was the same news authority that report former leader Kim Jong Il invented the hamburger and had eleven cakehole - in - ones the first sentence he ever hit the links . ( What , he was n’t serious enough to get 18 hollow - in - 1 ? ) So , it ’s average for this outrageous claim to be taken as such . But unicorns have been discussed and given mythical condition for 100 now , in spiritual text , travel observations , and even ancient pedantic newspaper . Did unicorns , at one point , really subsist ? If they did n’t , then where did the caption of this magical knight with one horn come from ?
For the uninitiated , unicorns are fabulous creatures that own a individual French horn protruding from it ’s brow . legend diverge on exactly what power the unicorn held . Some say it could vaporize , others say their horns possessed incredible healing power , and still others said that unicorns were immortal .
The first known picture of a one - horned “ unicorn ” is unremarkably order to be found in the ancient Lascaux Caves in France . The drawings go steady back to 15,000 BCE . In actuality , the fauna on the cave walls had two horns , but the original discovers got confused due to the tight estimation of the horns in the draught . More probably , the drawing describe some sorting of strapper or antelope .
The first spell account of a unicorn in Western lit comes from the Greek doctor Ctesias in the fourth C BCE . While traveling through Persia ( modern - solar day Iran ) , he learn tales of a single - horned “ uncivilised American Samoa ” roaming the eastern part of the world from fellow travelers . In his Hagiographa ( obtain from Odell Shepard ’s 1930 research manuel “ Lore of the Unicorn ” ) , Ctesias described these creatures as “ large as horse ” with white bodies , red heads , and blue eyes . Ctesias depicted the horn as multi - biased and about a infantry and one-half in length .
They were so fleet and powerful , exact Ctesias , that “ no creature , neither the Equus caballus or any other , could overtake it . ” According to Time Magazine ’s clause “ A abbreviated History of Unicorns , ” it was likely Ctesias never construe this creature himself , but rather meld the portrayal order to him by his foreign friends . Other well - bonk figures throughout story reported their own unicorn sightings , including Marco Polo ( calling them “ ugly brutes ” ) , Genghis Khan ( who supposedly decided to not occupy India upon see the creature ) , and Pliny the senior .
According to many scientists , what these people saw ( or , in Ctesias ’s subject , what was described to him ) may actually have been a rhinoceros . The Indian rhinoceros gibe many of the descriptions memorialise when those encountered a unicorn – the one horn , the powerful nature , and even Polo phone them “ ugly brutes . ” While rhinos and horses do not look much alike , gymnastic horse were a well - known measure back home . the great unwashed knew what were Equus caballus were . It was quite believable and feed a shadowy image of what the brute see like , similar to how Koala ’s got the “ bear ” put together onto their name and were also at one point yell “ scamp bears ” . In fact , this theory is so wide - carry , the scientific name of the Indian rhino is rhinoceros unicornis .
The unicorn is even cite in the King James variant of the Bible nine clip . “ God bring them out of Egypt ; he hath as it were the force of an unicorn ” and “ preserve me from the Leo the Lion ’s mouth ; for thou hast heard me from the horn of unicorn ” are just two of the unicorn - themed lines in this version of the Bible .
This may be a case of simple mistranslation . In the Hebrew Bible ( the Torah ) , there are references to a wight known as “ re’em . ” learner believe “ re’em ” were a now - extinct character of wild wild ox or , potentially , the now endangered but still live , Arabian pasang . At no point does the Torah make any reference to this animate being being one horned , though there is Mestompian art that limn these animal ’ profile in which only one French horn is visible . When the Old Testament was translated to Greek , these creature take on the word “ monokeros ” intend one - horned , due to the writer being familiar with the graphics than the literal copy . In the Latin Bible , this became “ unicornos ” and then , into the English translation , “ unicorn . ” Like a half-baked game of telephone , a wild ox or Arabian pasang became a mythic one - tusk take flight buck .
Unicorn worshipper also practice the existence of the narwhal as further proof that their beloved creature once roamed the Earth . The narwhal is a penis of the heavyweight and porpoise family and own a individual French horn – actually , it ’s a tooth – located in the middle of it ’s forehead . The tooth is used during sexual union and to produce holes in the ice of the cold-blooded waters of the Canadian Arctic and Greenland they often live in . These unicorn supporters speculate that unicorn , being endanger on acres by hunter and those wishing to do them harm , took the the sea and develop into the narwhal . However , narwhals , in fact , are really much close to beluga whale , dolphins , and porpoises than buck in term of DNA .
All of this evidence seems to point to that unicorns , at least in the cast we traditionally call up of , never actually exist . More likely , Amerindic rhinos , now - nonextant wild ox , and Arabian oryx were fuse to mould the myth of the unicorn . Though , if you still recollect the unicorn is real , there is a place for you : Lake Superior State University in Sault Ste . Marie , Michigan . In 1971 , the college create “ the Unicorn Hunters , ” a group dedicated to the stake out and hunt of these mythologic fauna . Though the group disbanded in 1987 , you could still apply for a Unicorn Questing permit on the university ’s site .
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Bonus fact :
Comparable to ivory , unicorn horns were an extremely worthful commodity ( which , of form , did n’t really survive ) and people would “ run ” unicorn simply to draw the profits of its horn . At its highest value , a unicorn horn was deserving roughly ten times its weightiness in gold . In the 16th century , a unicorn horn was sold to the Pope for 90,000 scudi – around tantamount to 18,000 pounds . Pharmacies in London sell powdered “ unicorn horn ” as late as 1741 .
Beginning in the 15th 100 , there was a wide held opinion that the most effective way to hunting unicorns was by using a virgin as bait . Art started showing images of unicorn rest their one - tusk forefront in the lap of virtuous women . One example of this is the tapestry know as “ Maiden with Unicorn ” which give ear in the Musée de Cluny ( the National Museum of the Middle Ages ) in Paris , France . The intimate overtone of this piece , and of many others like it , are not particularly subtle .
Other countries also developed their own unicorn - esque legends , like the Japanese kirin , a fierce animate being who was known to toss off off bad guys by piercing them through the heart with its horn . In China , the qilin , or to westerners the “ Formosan unicorn , ” is , despite it ’s intimidating demeanor , peaceful and when it come along , it meant right was about to bechance . In fact , whenever a well-thought-of ruler passed or was slate to be deport , a qilin would appear to alert the people that wideness was among them …
This posthas been republished with permit fromTodayIFoundOut.com .
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