Unicorn Coloring Pages

Unicorn Fun Facts

• The first known depiction of a unicorn—found in the Lascaux Caves of modern-day France—dates to around 15,000 BCE! Or so people thought, until they realized that the so-called Lascaux unicorn had two horns, drawn confusingly close together.
• It is believed that the unicorn is attracted to purity and innocence, giving rise to the legend of the virgin and the unicorn. According to this ancient legend, only a virgin sitting naked under a tree holds the power to capture a unicorn. Seeing her beauty and pureness, the unicorn reportedly will venture close and lay down beside the virgin placing his head in her lap, where the hunter can then kill or capture him.
• The earliest record of unicorns in Western literature belongs to Greek historian Ctesias. In the 5th century BCE, he wrote that the beast had a white body, purple head, blue eyes, and a multicolored horn—red at the tip, black in the middle, and white at the base.
• The unicorn is thought to hold the power to divine truth and will pierce the heart of a liar with its horn. According to Jewish legend, the unicorn can easily kill an elephant, a testament to its immense power and strength. It is said that even if the unicorn is captured, it can never be tamed.
• In his travels, Marco Polo believed he stumbled across unicorns. He wrote, “They are very ugly brutes to look at. They are not at all such as we describe unicorns.” That’s because they were actually rhinoceroses. Also, Genghis Khan reportedly decided not to conquer India after meeting a unicorn, which bowed down to him; he viewed it as a sign from his dead father and turned his army back.
• The Unicorn has been a part of the Royal Seal of Scotland since the 1300s. When James became king of both Scotland and England, he redrew the Royal Coat of Arms to include both the Lion of England and the Scottish Unicorn.