Lion: Difference between revisions
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{{Era|Animals}} | {{Era|Animals}} | ||
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[[File:Lion-egypt.jpg|thumb|250px|A male lion in Egypt]] | [[File:Lion-egypt.jpg|thumb|250px|A male lion in Egypt]] | ||
The '''lion''' is a {{wiki|Felidae|felid}} in the {{wiki|genus}} ''{{wiki|Panthera}}'' distinguished by the great manes of its males. It was historically endemic throughout [[Africa]] and the western half of [[Asia]], favoring savannahs and grasslands but not deserts and dense forests. | The '''lion''' is a {{wiki|Felidae|felid}} in the {{wiki|genus}} ''{{wiki|Panthera}}'' distinguished by the great manes of its males. It was historically endemic throughout [[Africa]] and the western half of [[Asia]], favoring savannahs and grasslands but not deserts and dense forests. | ||
==Mythology== | |||
In [[Greek mythology]], the [[Nemean Lion]] was a beast ultimately slain by the hero [[Herakles]] as part of his famous [[Labours of Hercules|labours]]. Afterwards, Herakles wore the beast's skin until it became as much a part of him as his [[Club of Herakles|club]]. | |||
In ancient [[Egypt]], the goddess [[Sekhmet]] was portrayed as a woman with the head of a lion, and among her many titles was "Lady of Slaughter".<ref name="ACO">''[[Assassin's Creed: Origins]]''</ref> | |||
==History== | ==History== | ||
===12th century BCE=== | ===12th century BCE=== | ||
During the {{Wiki|Twentieth Dynasty of Egypt}}, lions were so prized by | During the {{Wiki|Twentieth Dynasty of Egypt|twentieth dynasty}} of [[Egypt]], lions were so prized by [[pharaoh]]s for their sacred power, that they were almost hunted to extinction.<ref>''[[Discovery Tour: Ancient Egypt]]'' – [[Discovery Tour: Ancient Egypt#Fauna of Ancient Egypt|Fauna of Ancient Egypt: "Lions"]]</ref> | ||
[[File:ACOd-Lioness.jpg|thumb|left|250px|A lioness in Greece]] | |||
===5th century BCE=== | ===5th century BCE=== | ||
During the [[Peloponnesian War]], lions inhabited various regions of [[Greece]], and were hunted for the [[Trade Goods|spoils]] of the hunts were valuable: lion fangs were valued at 40 [[drachma]]e apiece, their claws at 14 drachmae apiece, and their manes at 38 drachmae apiece.<ref name="ACOd">''[[Assassin's Creed: Odyssey]]''</ref> | |||
During the [[Peloponnesian War]], | |||
An incarnation of the Nemean Lion haunted the [[Sinkholes of Herakles]] in [[Argolis]] during the Peloponnesian War. [[Daphnae]], the acting leader of the [[Daughters of Artemis]], tasked the [[Sparta]]n ''[[Mercenary|misthios]]'' [[Kassandra]] to hunt it down.<ref>''Assassin's Creed: Odyssey'' – [[The Goddesses' Hunt]]</ref> Kassandra did so, bringing the lion's [[pelt]] to Daphnae as proof.<ref>''Assassin's Creed: Odyssey'' – [[The Nemean Lion]]</ref> | |||
An incarnation of the Nemean Lion haunted the [[Sinkholes of Herakles]] in [[Argolis]] during the | |||
[[Mount Athos]] within the [[Triple Peninsula of Chalkidike]] in [[Makedonia]] was also haunted by a legendary [[Makedonian Lion|lion]] of its own.<ref>''Assassin's Creed: Odyssey'' – [[Legacy of the First Blade: Hunted]]</ref> | [[Mount Athos]] within the [[Triple Peninsula of Chalkidike]] in [[Makedonia]] was also haunted by a legendary [[Makedonian Lion|lion]] of its own.<ref>''Assassin's Creed: Odyssey'' – [[Legacy of the First Blade: Hunted]]</ref> | ||
===1st century BCE=== | ===1st century BCE=== | ||
During the [[Ptolemaic Kingdom|Ptolemaic dynasty]] in | During the [[Ptolemaic Kingdom|Ptolemaic dynasty]] in Egypt, lion claws were popular among commoners as pendants, valued at 35 drachmae each in the mid 1st century BCE.<ref name="ACO">''Assassin's Creed: Origins''</ref> | ||
==Influence== | |||
[[File:Argolis-Mycenae-LionGate.jpg|thumb|250px|The Lion Gate]] | |||
The main entrance of [[Mycenae]], the city said to have been founded by the hero [[Perseus]],<ref name="A Treasury of Legends">''Assassin's Creed: Odyssey'' – [[A Treasury of Legends]]</ref> was called the Lion Gate due to the sculpture of two lions flanking a column.<ref>''Discovery Tour: Ancient Greece'' – [[Discovery Tour: Ancient Greece#Mycenae|Mycenae: "The Lion Gate"]]</ref> | |||
Later, the lion became emblematic of [[Sparta]], especially of its nobility. [[Leonidas I of Sparta]], who fell in the [[Battle of Thermopylae]], was revered with the erection of a [[Lion of Leonidas|lion statue]] at the [[Hot Gates of Thermopylai]].<ref>''Discovery Tour: Ancient Greece'' – [[Discovery Tour: Ancient Greece#Thermopylai|Thermopylai: "Final Moments"]]</ref><ref>''Assassin's Creed: Odyssey'' – [[Memories Awoken]]</ref> [[Pausanias of Sparta]] also used the cryptonym "Red-eyed Lion" in his secret correspondence.<ref>[[Assassin's Creed Odyssey (The Official Novelization)|''Assassin's Creed: Odyssey'' (novel)]]</ref> | |||
The lions were | The lions were revered in 1st century BCE Egypt, especially by a group of bandits around [[Sapi-Res Nome]] who named themselves [[Disciples of the Lioness]], working alongside their revered lionesses.<ref name="ACO" /> | ||
==Behind the scenes== | ==Behind the scenes== | ||
In ''[[Assassin's Creed: Odyssey]]'', the mural featuring a lion hunt i is based on a {{Wiki|Lucania}}n | In ''[[Assassin's Creed: Odyssey]]'', the mural featuring a lion hunt i is based on a {{Wiki|Lucania}}n {{Wiki|File:Lucanian_fresco_tomb_painting_depicting_a_lion_hunt,_3rd_Century_BC,_Paestum_Archaeological_Museum_(14599876131).jpg|tomb painting}} from the 3rd century BCE. | ||
==Gallery== | ==Gallery== | ||
<gallery widths="180" position="center" captionalign="center"> | <gallery widths="180" position="center" captionalign="center"> | ||
ACOd-mural-lioncropped.jpg|A mural of a lion hunt | ACOd-mural-lioncropped.jpg|A mural of a lion hunt | ||
Memories Awoken - Assassins Creed Odyssey.png|The Lion of Leonidas | |||
ACOd-LionAlpha.jpg|A white alpha lion in ancient Greece | ACOd-LionAlpha.jpg|A white alpha lion in ancient Greece | ||
NemeanLion.jpg|The Nemean Lion in Argolis | NemeanLion.jpg|The Nemean Lion in Argolis | ||
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*''[[Assassin's Creed: Origins]]'' {{1st}} | *''[[Assassin's Creed: Origins]]'' {{1st}} | ||
*''[[Assassin's Creed: Odyssey]]'' | *''[[Assassin's Creed: Odyssey]]'' | ||
*[[Assassin's Creed Odyssey (The Official Novelization)|''Assassin's Creed: Odyssey'' (novel)]] | |||
==References== | ==References== | ||
Revision as of 15:42, 31 March 2020
The lion is a felid in the genus Panthera distinguished by the great manes of its males. It was historically endemic throughout Africa and the western half of Asia, favoring savannahs and grasslands but not deserts and dense forests.
Mythology
In Greek mythology, the Nemean Lion was a beast ultimately slain by the hero Herakles as part of his famous labours. Afterwards, Herakles wore the beast's skin until it became as much a part of him as his club.
In ancient Egypt, the goddess Sekhmet was portrayed as a woman with the head of a lion, and among her many titles was "Lady of Slaughter".[1]
History
12th century BCE
During the twentieth dynasty of Egypt, lions were so prized by pharaohs for their sacred power, that they were almost hunted to extinction.[2]
5th century BCE
During the Peloponnesian War, lions inhabited various regions of Greece, and were hunted for the spoils of the hunts were valuable: lion fangs were valued at 40 drachmae apiece, their claws at 14 drachmae apiece, and their manes at 38 drachmae apiece.[3]
An incarnation of the Nemean Lion haunted the Sinkholes of Herakles in Argolis during the Peloponnesian War. Daphnae, the acting leader of the Daughters of Artemis, tasked the Spartan misthios Kassandra to hunt it down.[4] Kassandra did so, bringing the lion's pelt to Daphnae as proof.[5]
Mount Athos within the Triple Peninsula of Chalkidike in Makedonia was also haunted by a legendary lion of its own.[6]
1st century BCE
During the Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt, lion claws were popular among commoners as pendants, valued at 35 drachmae each in the mid 1st century BCE.[1]
Influence
The main entrance of Mycenae, the city said to have been founded by the hero Perseus,[7] was called the Lion Gate due to the sculpture of two lions flanking a column.[8]
Later, the lion became emblematic of Sparta, especially of its nobility. Leonidas I of Sparta, who fell in the Battle of Thermopylae, was revered with the erection of a lion statue at the Hot Gates of Thermopylai.[9][10] Pausanias of Sparta also used the cryptonym "Red-eyed Lion" in his secret correspondence.[11]
The lions were revered in 1st century BCE Egypt, especially by a group of bandits around Sapi-Res Nome who named themselves Disciples of the Lioness, working alongside their revered lionesses.[1]
Behind the scenes
In Assassin's Creed: Odyssey, the mural featuring a lion hunt i is based on a Lucanian tomb painting from the 3rd century BCE.
Gallery
-
A mural of a lion hunt -
The Lion of Leonidas -
A white alpha lion in ancient Greece -
The Nemean Lion in Argolis -
The Makedonian Lion
.jpg){kind=link}
Appearances
- Assassin's Creed: Origins (first appearance)
- Assassin's Creed: Odyssey
- Assassin's Creed: Odyssey (novel)
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Assassin's Creed: Origins Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "ACO" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Discovery Tour: Ancient Egypt – Fauna of Ancient Egypt: "Lions"
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Odyssey
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Odyssey – The Goddesses' Hunt
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Odyssey – The Nemean Lion
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Odyssey – Legacy of the First Blade: Hunted
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Odyssey – A Treasury of Legends
- ↑ Discovery Tour: Ancient Greece – Mycenae: "The Lion Gate"
- ↑ Discovery Tour: Ancient Greece – Thermopylai: "Final Moments"
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Odyssey – Memories Awoken
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Odyssey (novel)