Leo.
Leo
The Nemean Lion, strangled by Heracles and lifted into the stars by Hera.
Jul 23 – Aug 22
Leo · 947 sq° of sky, brightest star Regulus
Leo (Leo) covers 947 square degrees of the northern sky in quadrant NQ2. Its brightest star is Regulus, which lies almost exactly on the ecliptic. The IAU standardised all constellation boundaries in 1930.
Leo represents the Nemean Lion, the monstrous creature with an impenetrable golden hide that plagued the valley of Nemea. Heracles was dispatched to slay it as the first of his Twelve Labours.
Finding that no sword, arrow, or club could pierce the lion's skin, Heracles chased it into a cave with two entrances and, blocking one, strangled the beast with his bare hands.
"No sword could pierce its hide; Heracles strangled the lion with his bare hands."
Heracles thereafter wore the lion's pelt as armour. The goddess Hera, who had sent the lion to torment the region, placed it among the stars — and at its heart sits Regulus, the brightest spring star.
Where this comes from.
Mythology
- Apollodorus Bibliotheca 2.5.1
- Aratus Phaenomena 146-155
- Hesiod Theogony 327-332
Paintings & illustrations
- Hercules and the Nemean Lion — Peter Paul Rubens (c. 1639) · Wikimedia · PD
- Leo Major and Leo Minor — Sidney Hall (engraver), Jehoshaphat Aspin (text) (1825) · Wikimedia · PD
For fun · sources cited. We don’t publish horoscopes, personality readings, or compatibility takes — just astronomy + classical mythology, with public-domain art where available. See all 88 constellations.