The lion is an animal that occupied an important place in the lives of the ancient Greeks. His figure is found on vases, mosaics, temple pediments, and warrior shields, while many famous monuments are adorned with sculptural representations of it. For example, we could mention the lions at Chaeronea and Amphipolis, the Lions Gate at Mycenae, and also the Lions Street at Delos.

Homer very often uses analogies with this animal, while the glorious name "Leonidas" means nothing else than "descendant lion." According to mythology, the great hero Hercules had succeeded in killing not just one but two lions: the first at Kithairon and the second at Nemea. All this shows a great familiarity of the ancient Greeks with this species of cats, which is very unusual if we assume that there were no lions in Greece.

But many ancient writers assure us to the contrary. Herodotus reports that during Xerxes' invasion of Greece in 480 BC, his army often faced nightly lion attacks as they crossed Macedonia. The Persians were on their way from Akanthos in Chalkidiki to Thermi, where their fleet had previously been concentrated.

As they made camp at night, they were attacked by lions, which rushed in and devoured the camels loaded with food. The animals desisted from their prey and pounced on the Persian army, seeing the gathering of so many people and packs as a good opportunity for an easy hunt. Surprisingly, the camels proved to be the only target of these attacks. The lions were not bothered by the other transport animals or the people.

Herodotus even wonders why the attacking animals devoured only the camels, which they had never seen before and did not even know the taste of their flesh. Next, the Greek historian identifies as the lions' habitat a large area between the Nesto and Acheloos rivers. He notes that this species of cat is found nowhere else in Europe.

Many years later, Aristotle will also mention the same area as a natural habitat for lions. On the other hand, Xenophon is more specific in his work "Kynigetikos" and says that the prey of these animals is the mountains of Chortiatis and Paggaio. The Greek traveler and geographer Pausanias tells us that the champion of Pagkration, Polydamas, in the 5th century BC, killed a lion with his bare hands in the area of Mount Olympus. The athlete greatly admired Hercules and wanted to imitate in this way the first Labour of Hercules, in Nemea.

Ancient texts also tell us when the lions disappeared from Greece. Polybius notes that in his time (200 - 118 BC) none of the species that existed in Africa existed in Europe. At the same time, Dion Chrysostom, writing in the 1st century AD, asserts that lions had completely disappeared from Macedonia. But how did this eventually happen? The main reason for the extinction of lions in Greece was probably uncontrolled hunting since the special animals had practically no natural enemies. At the same time, the growing demand for wild animals in Roman arenas should be taken into account.

So, according to all available evidence, it seems that the lions that once lived in our country were limited to Macedonia and generally to Northern Greece. Let us not forget that the famous ancient mosaic depicting a lion hunt is located in Pella. At the same time, it is believed that the species that once lived in Greece was similar to today's Asiatic lion (Panthera Leo Persica). Perhaps, in the end, the first heroic Labour of Hercules is to some extent based on facts and is not entirely the invention of some fanciful tale of ancient Greece.