Mythology/Culture: Greek Mythology
Time Period: 398 BC to present
Physical Description: A unicorn can be described two ways. The first, and least known, is a creature with the body of a horse and the legs of an antalope. Upon the creature's head, there is a horn. At the base, it is white. The white fades to black in the center, and the black fades to red at the top.

The second, and perhaps the most well-known form of the uncorn, is very simple. The creature is a horse, pure white, and very beautiful. In addition, the creature has a huge spiraled horn on his or her head.

History: Ctesias, a Greek writer, returned from the Far East and told all of Greece about the unicorn. The creature was from India, and, if someone were to file the creature's horn, healing dust would come from it, and this dust could protect against deadly drugs.

Stories/Denoted Characters:
Amalthea, perhaps the most famous and important of the Unicorns, nursed the god Zeus back to health. Zeus, taking one of the goat's horns, turned Amalthea into a unicorn, and this horn, sometimes known as The Horn of Plenty spilled out unlimited food. It is said that she became the star Capella, meaning goat.

Symbolism: Unicorns symbolized holiness, virginity, chastity, and purity.

Related Creatures: K'i-lin (Japanese), Ch'i-li (Chinese), Yale (Indian)

Modern Literature: The Unicorn Song

Bibliography
Creatures of Mythology
C.K.V.'s Unicorn Page