10 Mythical Creatures That Actually Existed
1. Unicorns
The Myth: Unicorns are white horses with a large, spiraled horn sticking out from their foreheads. They are often associated with magic and have been described for most of history throughout many world cultures. They were described in ancient Greece by Pliny the Younger and others, and the re'em, as it is described in the Christian Bible, resembles the unicorn.
The Reality: The myth of the unicorn has evolved over time from various descriptions of real animals, and the most likely source in European history stems from Pliny the Elder's description of the rhinoceros. He wrote in the 1st century CE that it "has the head of a stag, the feet of an elephant, and the tail of a boar ... it has a single black horn which projects from the middle of its forehead."
Over time, this description morphed through tall tales into the unicorn, but another source in Europe also helped push the belief in the majestic beast.
Norse Vikings would take narwhal tusks to Europe, and sell them to people as unicorn horns. Because they had never seen a narwhal or a unicorn, the explanation worked, and people traded in so-called "unicorn horns" for centuries.
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