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A winged unicorn on Le Manège d'Andrea | |
Creature information | |
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Other name(s) | Flying unicorn, Cerapter, Alicorn, Pegacorn, Unisus, Unipeg |
Grouping | Popular culture |
Sub grouping | Syncretism |
Family | Mythological horses |
Origin | |
Country | Assyria |
A winged unicorn or flying unicorn is a mythical ungulate, typically portrayed as a horse, with feathered wings like a pegasus and the horn of a unicorn. [1] It further features in modern popular culture and fiction.
In some literature and media, it has been referred to as an alicorn, a word derived from the Italian word alicorno, [2] or as a pegacorn, a portmanteau of pegasus and unicorn.
As a combination of the unicorn and Pegasus, who are characterized as symbols of purity, poetry, reverie, and magic, winged unicorns naturally carry both portfolios of symbolism, and are depicted in drawings and cited in channeling-type visions.
Winged unicorns have been depicted in art. Ancient Achaemenid Assyrian seals depict winged unicorns and winged bulls as representing evil, but winged unicorns can also represent light. [3] [4]
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