Nemean Lion
The Nemean Lion was a monstrous lion with an impenetrable golden hide that no weapon could pierce — the first of Heracles' twelve labours.
The Myth of Nemean Lion
The Nemean Lion was an invulnerable beast, offspring of Typhon and Echidna (or raised by Selene and set loose in the hills of Nemea). Its golden hide could not be pierced by any weapon forged by mortals or gods. For his first labour, Heracles tracked it to its cave, which had two entrances. He blocked one, entered the other, and discovered that arrows, sword, and olive-wood club all bounced harmlessly off the beast. Heracles wrestled the lion with his bare hands and strangled it. He skinned it using its own claws — the only things sharp enough to cut the divine hide — and wore the pelt as armour for the rest of his life. Zeus placed the lion in the sky as the constellation Leo, honouring the labour.
Symbols
Fun Fact
Heracles' lion skin became the most recognisable attribute in all of Greek art — visual shorthand for the hero across thousands of vase paintings.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth. See our full guide to English words from Greek mythology.
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The most fearsome monster in Greek mythology, who challenged Zeus for supremacy of the cosmos. Typhon was the father of many of mythology's most dangerous creatures.
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🐉 creaturelabour, Crete
The magnificent bull sent by Poseidon to Minos that became the father of the Minotaur, later captured by Heracles as his seventh labour.