Nemean lion

American  

noun

Classical Mythology.

1. a powerful lion strangled by Hercules as one of his labors.

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Nemean lion British  

noun

1. Greek myth an enormous lion that was strangled by Hercules as his first labour

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Example Sentences

This statue of Herakles-Vajrapani depicts him as a faithful defender of Buddha, wearing the head of the Nemean lion he famously slew and holding his sacred sword at repose.

From New York Times • Nov. 17, 2021

Chenel has brought a commanding, full-height Roman statue from the second century A.D., depicting Hercules wearing the skin of the Nemean lion.

From New York Times • May 4, 2017

He leads armies and battles all manner of man and beast, including undead soldiers, the hellhound Cerberus, the invulnerable Nemean lion and the multi-headed serpent the Hydra.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 3, 2014

But he returned the next day, as fresh and untroubled as when he had started, with the hide of the Nemean lion slung over his shoulder.

From Wonder Stories The Best Myths for Boys and Girls by Bailey, Carolyn Sherwin

Did you kill the Nemean lion, the Erymanthian boar, the Lernean serpent, and Stymphalian birds? 

From Dialogues of the Dead by Morley, Henry