A unicorn is a mythological creature very like a horse but with a single, pointed horn rising out of its forehead. Unicorns were first mentioned by the Greek historian Ctesias in 398 BCE. He visited the Persian court of King Darius II, and when he returned to Greece he wrote about the creature. His story was based on tales he had learned in Persia, not on eye-witness testimony. The Indian Unicorn was described as having a white horse body with a dark red head. Its horn was about a foot and a half long, was white at the base, black in the center and had a red tip. The unicorn is also known in Tibetan, Chinese, and Japanese folklore. The horn of the unicorn is considered a powerful life-saving remedy and was sold (and bought - by those who didn't know any better) as a rare medicine. In all cultures, it seems, the unicorn represents purity, longevity, and a kind of magical goodness. In the middle-ages the unicorn was sometimes associated with the body of Christ.
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