The unicorn is the most common motif on Indus seals and appears to represent a mythical animal that Greek and Roman sources trace back to the Indian subcontinent. A relatively long inscription of eight symbols runs along the top of the seal.
The animal on the seal has long been considered a mythical Indus Valley "Unicorn" of which there are also traces in Greek writings. This motif may have represented a clan, ethnic group or trading class. More unicorn seals have been found in Mohenjo-daro (some 60% of all seals) than at any other excavated Indus site.
The seals predominantly bore images of various kinds of animals, including bulls, wild ox, zebu (a type of cattle), elephants, rhinoceros, tigers and a single-horned animal, identified by some historians as a unicorn.
This Indus Seal was found between 1927 and 1931 during the initial excavations at Mohenjo-daro, an Indus Valley site in Sindh province, modern Pakistan. It was discovered by the British archaeologist Ernest Mackay.
The most frequently occurring iconographic motif of the Indus seals, with thousands of occurrences, is a unicorn bull, a male bovine animal with a single horn.
While many mythic creatures are man-eating monsters or evil spirits, others, like unicorns, are powerful and peaceful. Both the pearly white unicorn of European lore and the benevolent Asian unicorn avoid contact with humans, preferring to remain unseen.
With its white horse-like body and single spiralling horn, the unicorn is a symbol of purity, innocence and power in Celtic mythology. Legend also tells that their horns can purify poisoned water, such is the strength of their healing power.
A relatively long inscription of eight symbols runs along the top of the seal. The elongated body and slender arching neck is typical of unicorn figurines, as are the tail with bushy end and the bovine hooves.
The first written evidence of the existence of unicorns appears in natural history writings from ancient Greece in the 4th century BCE. These writings describe the “unicorn” as a wild donkey, “fleet of foot, having a horn a cubit and a half in length, and coloured white, red and black.”
Bull seal, Harappa 27
The zebu bull may symbolize the leader of the herd, whose strength and virility protects the herd and ensures the procreation of the species or it stands for a sacrificial animal.
The people of the Indus Valley civilization invented new water supply and sanitation devices that were the first of their kind. They included piping and a complex sewage system. Tunnels under Mohenjo-Daro carried the city's waste to a nearby estuary.
In heraldry, a unicorn is often depicted as a horse with a goat's cloven hooves and beard, a lion's tail, and a slender, spiral horn on its forehead (non-equine attributes may be replaced with equine ones).
The unicorn is the most common motif on Indus seals and appears to represent a mythical animal that Greek and Roman sources trace back to the Indian subcontinent.
A re'em, also reëm (Hebrew: רְאֵם), is an animal mentioned nine times in the Hebrew Bible. It has been translated as "unicorn" in the King James Version, and in some Christian Bible translations as "oryx" (which was accepted as the referent in Modern Hebrew), "wild ox", "wild bull", "buffalo" or "rhinoceros".
Seal 🦭 Emoji Meaning at a Glance
People use the seal in a jokey way to represent themselves when they're feeling sultry, cute, or funny. Alternatively, the 🦭 can be used to talk about the sea, marine life, or your love of cute animals.
In Christian art, the unicorn has been depicted as a symbol of Christ himself, embodying purity, strength, and the promise of hope. The creature's legendary ability to elude capture, save by a pure maiden, echoes the themes of Easter: resurrection, new beginnings, and the transformative power of love and sacrifice.
In short, no. Although many cultures have believed in the existence of unicorns, there is no scientific evidence to support their actual existence. The closest animals resembling unicorns are narwhals and rhinoceroses, both of which possess horns on their heads.
Unicorn dating is a unique concept in the realm of relationships, where an individual, often referred to as a 'unicorn', willingly joins an existing couple. This term, which has gained popularity in recent years, is most commonly associated with a bisexual woman who becomes part of a heterosexual couple's relationship.
The unicorn is the national animal of Scotland
The unicorn became an extremely popular symbol of Scottish royalty, and is still used today. Since 1603, the royal coat of arms has featured the unicorn of Scotland on one side and the lion of England on the other.
Historians have suggested that the unicorn seal may have been influenced by the iconography of Rsyasringa — a sage in Hindu and Buddhist mythology described as having deer horns and associated with fertility.
Scientists step up hunt for 'Asian unicorn', one of world's rarest animals. The Saola is so elusive that no biologist has seen one in the wild. Now they are racing to find it, so they can save it.
(a) The seal in the given picture is Unicorn seal. The animal depicted on this seal is a unicorn. (b) These seal were made up of terracotta, steatite, agate etc.
Unicorn. Slang for a bisexual person, a reference to people who believe bisexuality to be a myth. It can also be used to describe a bisexual woman who is happy to sleep with a heterosexual couple (or, in other words, the fantasy of most straight men).
In recent times, the word unicorn has become a popular one on dating apps, and it refers to a woman willing to sleep with a couple or a couple seeking a woman to sleep with them together.
A Unicorn Baby is a mythical concept referring to an idealised baby who feeds, sleeps, and develops perfectly according to specific routines and expectations, creating minimal disruption to their parents' lives. Does the Unicorn Baby actually exist? The Unicorn Baby is more of a mythical ideal than a reality.