OxScience

Unicorn

It is a mythological creature represented as a white horse with a goatee, a lion’s or a boar’s tail, antelope legs, and a horn on its forehead. Today it is only depicted as a horse with one horn.

It is an animal that stars in various stories and legends. In the Middle Ages, it was considered a very powerful animal with the ability to defeat larger and stronger animals such as elephants.

There are three hypotheses that seek to explain the appearance of this legend:

• Greek, Macedonian, and Roman explorations in India described a one-horned creature, probably an Indian rhinoceros.
• The Viking peoples who traded with the interior of Europe sold narwhal horn and it was represented in a similar way to a sea unicorn. The Vikings took advantage of the legends to sell these horns as unicorn horns for astronomical figures because they were associated with medicinal powers for longevity and against poisoning.
• The third hypothesis comes from the discovery of a single-horned roe deer on the forehead on July 13, 2008. This type of peculiarity could occur many more times throughout history.

Unicorns were considered elusive, solitary, and aggressive animals, making their hunting difficult.

Pegasus

According to Greek mythology, Pegasus is a winged horse. It was the first horse that came to be among the gods. It was the horse of Zeus. He was born from the bloodshed by Medusa when Perseus cut off her head.

It is a white or black horse and has two wings with which it can fly. When flying, it moves its legs as if riding on the ground. According to some sources, Perseus did not fly on Pegasus but used winged sandals.

Pegasus was ridden by Bellerophon, a hero who managed to kill the Chimera, another mythological creature that ravaged the Lycian territories. He was also able to defeat the Amazons. Bellerophon was a very ambitious hero and since he wanted to use Pegasus to reach Olympus, Zeus sent a mosquito to bite the horse and the hero fell from the skies. Bellerophon did not die, but he was crippled for life.

suggested video: Unicorn vs Pegasus

Differences between Unicorn and Pegasus

• Unicorns represent purity, beauty, and is only visible to the pure of heart. Only allowed to ride by a virgin maiden.
• A pegasus is a magical, winged horse. He is capable of flight and was born from the bloodshed by the Gorgon Medusa. To ride a Pegasus you must be pure of heart, this horse is able to read the minds and hearts of men.