Nemean Lion: Did you mean...?

The Greek Archaic Period (c. 800-479 BCE) started from what can only be termed uncertainty, and ended with the Persians being ejected from Greece for good after the battles of Plataea and Mykale in 479 BCE. The Archaic Period is preceded...

One side of this heavy weight is inscribed in Aramaic with "correct according to the stater of silver". This probably refers to the use of a weight standard based on the silver coins known as staters. This object weighs just over 31 kg, which...

Detail from the Ishtar Gate of Babylon, built in 6th century BCE by king Nebuchadnezzar II; part of the Gate is now reconstructed in Pergamon Museum in Berlin.

Colossal figure in the facade of the palace of Sargon II in Dur-Sharrukin. Drawing Flandin PL 41 by Paul-Emile Botta (1802-1870 CE), c. 1849 CE.

This is the most complete of the surviving lions from the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, also known as the Tomb of Mausolus. The lions probably stood at the base of the stepped-pyramid roof, acting as both protective and royal symbols. There...

The gods of the Mesopotamian region were not uniform in name, power, provenance or status in the hierarchy. Mesopotamian culture varied from region to region and, because of this, Marduk should not be regarded as King of the Gods in the same...

The Asiatic lion in Mesopotamia symbolized the forces of chaos, which the king defeated in his role as a champion of order and civilization. Lions appear in works of art from the Early Dynastic Period through the time of the Neo-Assyrian...

Pebble mosaic floor from the "House of Dionysos" at Pella (Macedonia, Greece) with a scene of a lion hunt. Last quarter of the 4th century BCE. (Pella, Archaeological Museum). The composition depicts the moment when the two huntsmen, one...

Colossal statue of a winged lion from the North-West Palace of Ashurnasirpal II, Nimrud (ancient Kalhu), modern-day Iraq. Neo-Assyrian Empire, c. 883-859 BCE. This is one of a pair of guardian figures that flanked one of the entrances...

Detail of glazed tiles depicting a lion, from the gates of ancient Babylon (modern-day Iraq). The lion is the symbol of Babylon, and represents Ishtar, the goddess of fertility, love and war. Meant not only to symbolise Babylon, but to...