﻿168 PLEISTOCENE MAMMALIA. 



the former existence of the animal in the Peloponnesus before the dawn of history from 

 the following incidental notices that have been woven into the myths : 



" The Nemean Lion inhabited a cave with two mouths on Mount Treton, between 

 Mycenae and Nemea. Its destruction was one of the twelve labours of Hercules (Paus. 

 ii, 15, 2; Apollod. ii, 5, 1 ; Diod. iv, 11), who is related to have accomplished this feat 

 by the unaided strength of his arms, and without the aid of any weapon (Eur. Here. Eur. 

 15,3; Noom. xxv, 176). Admetus, King of Pherse, loved Alcestis, the daughter of 

 Pelias ; her father promised to give her to the man who should harness Lions and Wild 

 Boars to the same chariot. Apollo enabled Admetus to fulfil this condition, and Admetus 

 married Alcestis (Apollod. i, 9, 15). Adrastus, King of Argos, in obedience to an oracle 

 which ordered him to marry his daughters to a Wild Boar and a Lion, gave Deipyle to 

 Tydeus, and Argea to Polynices, because they bore respectively the images of those 

 animals on their shields." 1 



The Roman writer ./Elian was probably right in his supposition that the Lion had 

 been expelled from the Peloponnesus before the days of Homer. 8 



We have already seen that the existence of the Lions has been proved historically in 

 Thrace, Macedonia, and Thessaly. It is attested also by the voice of tradition. King 

 Caranus, 3 the mythical founder of the Macedonian dynasty, is reported to have celebrated 

 his victory over Ciseus, a neighbouring king, by a trophy that was overturned by a Lion 

 that descended from Mount Olympus ; and therefore, according to Pausanias, the Mace- 

 donians, deterred by the omen, never erected trophies afterwards. Lysimachus also, 

 according to the same author, 4 a Macedonian, and one of Alexander's body-guards, was 

 thrown into a Lion's den by the command of his master, and conquered the beast. Poly- 

 damus 5 also, the athlete, killed a great and strong Lion, without arms of any kind, on 

 Mount Olympus. A Lioness, sent by Diana, 6 killed Phayllus, the tyrant of Ambracia, and 

 therefore was reverenced by the Ambraciots as their deliverer. It is worthy of note that 

 Ambracia lies to the west of the River Achelous, and outside the boundary laid down by 

 Herodotus. 



1 ' Notes and Queries,' vol. ix, p. 57. 



2 iElian, ' De Nat. Anim.,' Schneider, lib. hi, cap. i, 27. 



3 Pausanias, lib. ix, cap. xl, 4. 4 Pausanias, lib. i, cap. ix, 5 : 



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5 Pausanias, lib. vi, cap. v, 3. 



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6 iElian, 'De Nat. Anim.,' Schneider, lib. xii, cap. xl: 



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