08-03-2010, 02:02 PM
Why indeed?
If Caesar mentioned unicorns it was probably because such tales were in circulation, and he knew the home folks wanted tales of the exotic. The bulls as big as elephants did exist: aurochs.
hock: They were not quite as large as African elephants, but they were really, really big.
Since the Mediterranean cultures had had contact with the Celts for over five centuries by then, it's possible that many Celts had adopted the foreigners' name, even if they retained they own tribal identity in conversation among themselves. For example, many native Americans of a certain heritage answer to "Cherokee" today, even though their own name for themselves is entirely other: ???, pronounced "Tsalagi".
If Caesar mentioned unicorns it was probably because such tales were in circulation, and he knew the home folks wanted tales of the exotic. The bulls as big as elephants did exist: aurochs.
hock: They were not quite as large as African elephants, but they were really, really big.Since the Mediterranean cultures had had contact with the Celts for over five centuries by then, it's possible that many Celts had adopted the foreigners' name, even if they retained they own tribal identity in conversation among themselves. For example, many native Americans of a certain heritage answer to "Cherokee" today, even though their own name for themselves is entirely other: ???, pronounced "Tsalagi".
"Fugit irreparabile tempus" (Irrecoverable time glides away) Virgil
Ron Andrea
Ron Andrea
