Lions
May 14, 2017
Lions once lived in Africa, Asia, and southern Europe. Now they are mainly in the game reserves of Africa. Some can still be found in the Gir Forest of India but they are highly endangered. An adult male lion can weigh as much as 550 lbs and grow as long as 11 ft including the tail. Females are about 15-20% smaller and don’t have the beautiful mane the males have. They live in families called prides just like you see in the movie “The Lion King.” Only two mature male will be in one pride and they spend about 20-21 hours per day resting leaving the hunting and cub rearing to the females. Hmmmm…sounds like a pretty relaxing life, right? Even when the lionesses hunt the food the males eat first, then the females, and last the cubs.
I have to imagine that the pride unit works well. In “The Lion King” there is a scene where Mufasa teaches young Simba about when to be brave. I still get the giggles when Simba ducks down into the grass when Mufasa grouchily calls to him. However Mufasa’s temper is soon calmed as he gives Simba some wise fatherly advice . I love this father-son moment in this movie. Especially since we later find out that Simba will be on his own all to soon, and will ache for his father’s presence.
Male lions have been a symbol for thousands of years across Europe, Asia, and Africa. The most common depiction is that of king, like king of the jungle or of all beasts. A lion is though of as royalty, brave, and a leader. The earliest depiction of lions in cave art about 32,000 years ago in the Chauvet Cave in southern France, and later in the Lascaux cave 15,000 years ago.
In Egypt we first see lions in the form of a sphinx, which has the head and shoulders of a human and the body of a lioness. These sphinx were protectors of the pharaohs. Later the pharaohs themselves were depicted as sphinxes to boost their credibility as the offspring of deity. In fact 
Bastet or Bast was a goddess in the Egyptian religion worshiped in the 2nd Dynasty. I don’t want to give any spoilers to those who have not read Recreated, but you will find a lioness who befriends Lily in her adventure to save Amon. Lily and the lioness rely on each other to get through the many challenges they face. 
Sekhmet, the war goddess, is depicted with a woman’s body and the head of a lioness. It’s said that sacred lioness was responsible for the annual flooding of the Nile.
In Greek mythology Heracles barehanded killed the Nemean lion and wore the pelt as an invulnerable magic cloak. This lion is also said to represent the constellation Leo and the sign of the Zodiac.
Then in the Bible we have Daniel in the lions den, and somehow survived the night and miraculously survives. If your curious you can look up the account in Daniel 6.
In Chinese and East Asian traditions start with the Buddhist missionaries from India in the 1st century AD who first introduced lions. Lions are not native to China but they are in the art and believe lions protect from evil spirits. In fact there is a Chinese New Year lion dance to scare away ghosts and demons.
Check out the video below where they dance on the stilts. I love watching the eyes blink.
On Wikipedia they listed leaders with lion-ish names. Have you heard of them?
Title of kings and political leaders
Various kings and political leaders in different cultures and times, famed for courage or fierceness, were titled “the lion” – such as
- Llywelyn the Great, along with his family, were the first to bare lions on arms.
- Henry the Lion
- Richard the Lionheart
- Robert III, “The Lion of Flanders”
- Lala Lajpat Rai, “The Lion of Punjab”.
- The Al-Assad family, ruling in Syria, derives its surname from the title Asad (“lion” in Arabic) of an ancestor.[30]
- Thirteen popes took the name Leo.
Lions have been around for a long and hopefully we are wise enough to make sure they stick around.
Shara
This entry was posted in Mythology.
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