The Constellation
Monoceros |
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Mythology and History |
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The Unicorn. |
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The history of Monoceros is as dim as the constellation's
stars. |
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This mythological creature was a horned animal with the head
and forequarters of a horse, the hindquarters of a stag and the tail of
a lion. The unicorn can be traced back to the Assyrians (2700 BC
to 600 BC) who sometimes recorded this animal in wall paintings.
Modern scholars think that the unicorn originated from a mistaken description
of the Indian rhinoceros. According to the lore that grew up around
the beast, people who drank from the horn of a unicorn were protected from
stomach trouble, poisoning, and epilepsy. Even today, some people
believe that the rhinoceros's horn possesses magical powers. |
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While the constellation may have been in existence prior
to the seventeenth century, its first historical reference appears in Jakob
Bartsch's star chart of 1624, under the name Unicornu. It
is believed that Bartsch, who was Johannes Kepler's son-in-law, relied
on earlier works, but such works have never been identified. |
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