Leo – The Greek Myth Behind the Zodiac Sign

Leo symbol c. 1440-1450 Book of Hours, the Fastolf Master, Bodleian Library, Oxford

The Zodiac Sign of Leo

July 21 to August 22

5th sign of the zodiac

Symbol: Lion

Element: Fire

Ruling Planet Sun

Leo, with Leo Minor above, as depicted in Urania’s Mirror, a set of constellation cards published in London c.1825.

Leo is associated with fire, as are Aries and Sagittarius, and is a fixed sign.

Egyptians worshipped the constellation of Leo, which they referred to as “Knem“, for the reason that it was present during the flooding of the Nile River.

This event was a sign of plentiful harvests for the coming year and people regarded that as a gift from the earth.

Tutankhamun’s (Ruler of Egypt) gold throne featured lion heads, where the seat and front legs meet, as well as clawed feet at the end of each leg, symbolizing power and royalty.

The Sickle of Leo

The Sickle of Leo is an easy to spot star pattern, resembling a backward question mark, within the constellation Leo, representing the head and shoulders of a lion, the symbol of the Zodiac sign of Leo.

The sickle is composed of six bright stars; Epsilon Leonis, Mu Leonis, Zeta Leonis, Gamma Leonis, Eta Leonis, and Alpha Leonis (Regulus),the brightest star in Leo which is considered to be the lion’s heart.

The Sickle is most visible during the spring months in the Northern Hemisphere, with April and May being the best viewing months.

The constellation Leo is associated with the Greek myth of the Nemean lion, the first of the Twelve Labours of Heracles.

The Myth of the Nemean Lion

The First of the Twelve Labours of Heracles

The Revenge of Hera

Heracles was the result of an illicit affair between Zeus, King of the Gods of Mount Olympus and Alcmene, who was nothing but a mere mortal.

It was bad enough for Hera, Zeus’s wife, to know she was married to an unfaithful old goat but to see the living proof of his infidelity right under her nose every day, in the shape of Heracles, whom she hated, made her blood boil.

A statue of powerful Hercules, closeup, isolated in black – By neurobite

Hera, Queen of the heavens, Goddess of marriage, women and childbirth, daughter of Cronus and Rhea, was out for revenge, and poor Heracles was the one about to pay.

Heracles, it seems was no angel either.

After killing his music teacher, Linus, with a lyre, he was sent to tend cattle in the mountains.

Later, whilst living in Thebes, he fell in love with Megara, daughter of Creon, King of Thebes, whom he married and went on to have children with.

For Hera out of sight did not mean out of mind and with her super powers she managed to get inside Heracles’ head and sent him completely crazy, where upon, in a fit of frenzy, he murdered his wife and children.

To atone for his crime, King Eurystheus of Tiryns assigned to Heacles, his famous twelve labours, the first of his twelve labours was to kill the Nemean Lion.

Pieter Paul Reubens Hercules and the Nemean Lion

Pieter Paul Rubens – Heracles and the Nemean Lion

The First Labour of Heracles

Heracles was instructed by Eurystheus to bring him the pelt of the Nemean lion, said to roam the hillsides around Nemea, in the northeastern part of the Peloponnese, taking women as hostages to his cave, where he would then lay in wait for their rescuers to appear.

Once the brave rescuers entered the lion’s den in search of the kidnapped maidens, the lion hid the hapless women at the back of his cave.

The lion then transformed himself into the likeness of the maidens and the moment the rescuers came close, he grabbed them by the neck, gobbled them up and gave their bones to Hades (God of the Underworld).

Heracles Arrives in Nemea

Hercules and the Nemean Lion – Print by Adamo (Ghisi) Scultori, after Giulio Romano – circa 1530–87 – Metropolitan Museum of Art – New York City

Heracles arrived in Cleonea, near Nemea, where he lodged with a poor shepherd, Molorchus, who had lost his son to the lion.

Molorchus offered to sacrifice a ram to assure success for Heracles’ mission but Heracles refused saying:

“No, wait thirty days, if I return with the lion’s pelt, we will sacrifice the ram to Zeus, my father, King of the Gods, if I don’t return, sacrifice the ram to me, as a hero”.

After tracking the lion for days Heracles found his arrows were useless; the lion’s pelt was impervious to all weapons.

After many days and much ado, Heracles managed to back the lion into its cave, blocking one entrance, (of which there were two) and entering through the other, whacked the lion unconscious with his club and strangled it with his bare hands.

Hercules, the Greek mythological hero, as he faces the Nemean Lion, his first labor.

Heracles, the Greek mythological hero, as he faces the Nemean Lion, his first labor.

Help from Goddess Athena

Heracles’ elation at slaying the lion was short lived; he discovered that no way could he skin the lion with his knife, no matter how hard he tried.

Athena, Goddess of wisdom, courage, inspiration, who had been watching Heracles’ efforts, suggested he use one of the lions own claws to remove the pelt.

This he did with great success and returned, with the pelt, to Molorchus, where they triumphantly sacrificed a ram to Zeus.

Hera, in reward for its courageous attempt to kill Heracles, placed the lion amongst the stars as Leo.

Personality Traits of Leo

Leo the Lion

Leo – Positive Traits

Courtesy of Ganeshspeaks.com

Leo – Positive Traits

Optimistic

Leo is an optimist who is able to see the silver lining to life.

You always see the positive side of any situation you face, you prefer to revel in the good than dwell over the bad.

Natural leader and popular

You are a natural leader and always urge to be on the top and in the spotlight.

You can’t think of anyone who can better lead than you.

You are born with regal aura and generosity that usually ushers others to follow you.

You love stardom and always want to be a superhero or queen bee for everyone.

You work hard to be center staged in social gatherings, your natural confidence, crowd-pleasing intuition, and desire for attention make you popular.

Kind and protective

You feel responsible and are always willing to help out close and loved ones in need.

You will go to great lengths to make sure that your loved and close ones are happy.

You will stand up for the underdog every time.

As a Leo, you are likely to have a compassionate heart, and you tend to be extremely kind and generous creatures.

Loyal

If there’s one trait imbibed in you, it is your loyalty.

You are very loyal to your friends, acquaintances, and close ones.

Honest

Leo individuals are very honest, you tend to be extremely direct and straightforward with people.

You give honest feedback to people when they ask for it.

You don’t believe in false modesty, you are straightforward and will never speak white lie just to impress others.

Your honesty often comes off as excessive bluntness.

Vivacious and Attention seeking

Leo natives are born with a flair for drama and flamboyance, you love to be center stage and be in the spotlight or enjoy stardom all the time.

In every social gathering and party, you are a great entertainer.

You command the audience and receive a standing ovation for all inspiring speeches and jokes.

You are an anecdote and love a tall tale, hence, you are never dull and can definitely work well in the presence of many people.

Leo Negative Traits

Leo – Negative Traits

Arrogance

At times, your dominance and confidence can be seen more like arrogance and conceit.

Leo individuals ooze with confidence.

You think that if you have arrived at a conclusion at first, then you are right.

Your confidence to lead people can turn into arrogance at times, you may get self-centered and thinks you are the best in everything.

You love to give advice but don’t accept one with an open heart.

Inflexibility

You are not only inflexible for other people but also inflexible for yourselves.

When you have committed to something, you tend to stick to it, regardless of how much you hate it.

Laziness

Though you are full of ambition and enthusiasm, you might admit to being lazy.

You will take the easy way out for given opportunities and situations.

You will be especially lazy when the situation offers little fun or glory to you.

Dogmatic and Prideful

Leos are born with all of the pride and glory of the maned creature.

You can hold onto a wrong idea or belief out of stubborn pride.

You find difficulty in self-reflection and will never admit to your mistakes, you find it hard to accept other suggestions even if they are right.

Domineering

Leos have a hard time learning when to stop ruling and start listening, for this reason, you are extremely domineering and tend to overpower those around you.

You will always demand respect and expect everyone around you to behave subserviently.

You can interfere in other matters, throw orders, bully, and expect them to follow without any arguments.

When you are not able to control others then you get frustrated and throw fiery temper tantrums.

Jealous and Competitive

You always want to be the best, the brightest and most beautiful in the world, you simply hate it when someone outshines you in any way, when that happens, you tend to be jealous and competitive.

You won’t hesitate to use lies and trickery to discredit your opponents and rivals.