Random Thought

probably by Domenico Zampieri, c. 1602 (Palazzo Farnese, Rome) Throughout known history man has told fantastic stories of wonderful creatures and terrifying monsters. There are even depictions of creatures at ancient sites that some argue are representation of dinosaurs or other extinct creatures that supposedly the artisans would have no knowledge of. Of these mythical creatures, one of the most beloved is the unicorn. In modern romanticize versions this majestic creature has all the characters of a horse with a spiral shaped horned. But what is the actual basis for the unicorn? In the Old Testament of the Bible, there are up to 5 verses that use the word unicorn to describe a beast , either metaphorically or realistically. It is believed that these references refer to an animal more like an oxen, bull or bison with large horns. This would make sense since the bull was a very important animal to most cultures of the time. An animal listed as an unicorn can also be found listed i...

via watercolorwednesdays.blogspot.com We have grown up with tales told at bedtime that include all sorts of wonderful and scary creatures, some are warm and furry, others are ugly and mean, and still others defy imagination. Some of them are tricksters, others are mischievous, some are helpful and others are not very nice at all. We did meet some of the scary creatures of the night last month; so maybe it is nice to meet some creatures that are not so scary that we should be wary. One of the interesting things that you find when you start looking at our wonderful ancient knowledge, left to us from the rich cultures of times past, are all the over-laps and similarities. Not only are the story-lines similar, but, also the qualities of the characters involved seem to resemble one another. Several of the creatures included in the ancient stories are very similar to us in appearance. Some of the creatures that resemble us include giants, elves, fairies, leprechauns and gnome...