The Nemean lion
Leo is the Nemean lion, whose hide no weapon could pierce, killed by Heracles in the first of his labors. Its brightest star, Regulus, was called the heart of the lion.
In the tradition
Heracles strangled the Nemean lion with his hands and wore its skin from then on. Eratosthenes and Hyginus say it was set in the sky to honor the first of the labors.
Latin writers called its chief star Cor Leonis, the lion’s heart, and the name Regulus, little king, comes from the Renaissance. The Sun passes it in late summer, at the year’s hottest time.
Sources
- Pseudo-Eratosthenes, Catasterismi (Hellenistic, surviving in an epitome). A collection of the myths told about how each constellation came to be in the sky.
- Hyginus, De Astronomia (1st century BCE or later). The Latin handbook of constellation myths, often giving several versions side by side.
Updated October 9, 2026.
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