It was here, on Mount Olympus, that Polydamas completely unarmed, killed a strong, wild lion of considerable size. It’s like asking: Why do mermaids, unicorns, Pegasus, or Dragons appear in old Heraldry despite them not existing at all? I am seeing this question a lot!
There is archaeological evidence for lions (bones etc) in Greece but it tends to be extremely early. Take this passage from Herodotus describing the Persian descent towards Thermopylae and the three hundred there in 480 BC. This item will ship to United States, but the seller has not specified shipping options. The earliest graphic representations feature lions as organized hunters with great strength, strategies, and skills. I've now edited the two articles. https://dinoanimals.com/animals/european-eurasian-cave-lion Lions are only found in the wilds in Africa, but the felines have called many places home. The European lion (P l europaea) is now extinct. Lions used to live in ancient Greece, the Balkans and parts of southern Russia. Cultural depictions of lions are known in European, African and Asian countries. European Lion European Lion is an extinct lion subspecies that used to reside in southern parts of Europe up until the first century. Peter Maas 10:24, 1 June 2006 (UTC) European lions are also discussed in Asiatic lion#Asiatic Lions in Europe Well, I'm actually against it now. The ‘mountain’ lion of 1000 years ago was the Asiatic sub-species of Panthera leo – the traditionally understood lion (eg of Africa and cave-lion of European fossil history), and the photo you have is of a puma (Felis concolor) which is … However, with Greek lions there are a couple of sources that give pause for thought and that prevent us from banishing the European lion prematurely. The West African Lion (Panthera leo senegalensis), also known as the Senegal lion: This is found in isolated areas in west and central Africa and is considered to be critically endangered.