Leo

Greeks believed the god Zeus placed the figure of a gigantic lion in the
sky with the rest of the stars. This lion lived in the city of Nemea. The people who
lived in that region were terrorized by the Nemean Lion. Several times they tried to
destroy the beast.  Heracles, the most famous Greek hero, was ordered by the king, Euryshtheus,
to kill the Nemean lion. Heracles was an incredibly strong man. The Romans called him
Hercules. When Heracles reached the cave where the beast was living, he realized all
his weapons were useless against the lion. Heracles killed the lion by strangling it with
his bare hands. When the beast was dead, Heracles used its pelt as a coat and the head as a helmet.

Home ~ © 2009 Leann Brinkman ~ Pierce College