| Leo | |
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Other Names |
Leon Nemeios, Leo Nemeum, Nemean Lion, Humbaba, Great Lion |
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First Appearance |
Greek Myth |
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Created by |
Greek Myth |
Origin[]
Leo is one of the constellations of the zodiac, between Cancer the crab to the west and Virgo the maiden to the east. It is located in the Northern celestial hemisphere. Its name is Latin for lion, and to the ancient Greeks represented the Nemean Lion killed by the mythical Greek hero Heracles as one of his twelve labors. Its old astronomical symbol is (♌︎). One of the 48 constellations described by the 2nd-century astronomer Ptolemy, Leo remains one of the 88 modern constellations today, and one of the most easily recognizable due to its many bright stars and a distinctive shape that is reminiscent of the crouching lion it depicts.
Leo is associated with fire, accompanied by Aries and Sagittarius, and its modality is fixed. The traditional Western zodiac associates Leo with the period between about July 23 and August 22, and the sign spans the 120th to 150th degree of celestial longitude.
Some mythologists believe that in Sumeria, Leo represented the monster Humbaba, who was killed by Gilgamesh.
In Babylonian astronomy, the constellation was called UR.GU.LA, the "Great Lion"; the bright star Regulus was known as "the star that stands at the Lion's breast." Regulus also had distinctly regal associations, as it was known as the King Star.
In Greek mythology, Leo was identified as the Nemean Lion which was killed by Heracles (Hercules to the Romans) during the first of his twelve labours. The Nemean Lion would take women as hostages to its lair in a cave, luring warriors from nearby towns to save the damsel in distress, to their misfortune. The Lion was impervious to any weaponry; thus, the warriors' clubs, swords, and spears were rendered useless against it. Realizing that he must defeat the Lion with his bare hands, Hercules slipped into the Lion's cave and engaged it at close quarters. When the Lion pounced, Hercules caught it in midair, one hand grasping the Lion's forelegs and the other its hind legs, and bent it backwards, breaking its back and freeing the trapped maidens. Zeus commemorated this labor by placing the Lion in the sky.
The Roman poet Ovid called it Herculeus Leo and Violentus Leo. Bacchi Sidus (star of Bacchus) was another of its titles, the god Bacchus always being identified with this animal. However, Manilius called it Jovis et Junonis Sidus (Star of Jupiter and Juno).
Public Domain Literary Appearances[]
All published appearances of Leo before January 1, 1930 are in the public domain in the US.
Some notable appearances are listed below:
- Theogony
- Pindar, Odes
- Greek Lyric IV Bacchylides, Fragments
- Aeschylus, Fragments
- The Library
- Theocritus, Idylls
- Callimachus, Hymns
- Callimachus, Fragments
- The Library of History
- Description of Greece
- On Animals
- Historical Miscellany
- New History
- Fall of Troy
- Dionysiaca
- Fabulae
- Astronomica
- Metamorphoses
- Heroides
- Hercules Furens
- Oedipus
- Thebaid