#2 of Mythology

Greek Monster

The Nemean Lion

The Nemean lion is most famous for the first labor of Heracles(Hercules, as we know him), when he had to slay the great lion. It's told that this vicious lion was born from Typhon, the guy with a hundred heads, and Echidna, the woman who's half serpent. The Nemean lion roamed in Nemea, obviously. He scared the wits out of the people who lived near Nemea because his roars were terrifying and his size was enromous. No one could get rid of him because his skin was so thick no weapon could cut through it. One day, Heracles was ordered to kill this powerful monster. He went into the forest to search for the lion, and suddenly from behind him it roared and ran towards him. Heracles started to shoot arrows, but they all would bend when it hit the thick fur. When the Nemean lion reached right in front of Heracles' face, he thrust his olive tree club(that he had taken out of the ground with his bare hands). However, this blow only took out the lion for a few seconds. Heracles realized that he would never kill this lion with his weapons and decided to fight by his strength. He went one on one with the lion, and with his great power strangled the Nemean lion and killed it! The second part of his task was to obtain the skin of the lion. Because it was so thick, he could not cut it until Athena, disguised as a crone, told him to use the lion's own claws. He was then successful in getting the skin and decided to use it as his armor, since it was so strong.