Hercules killed the Nemean Lion in Nemea during his first labor.
Nemea was an ancient region in the northeastern Peloponnese, associated with the sanctuary of Zeus and the Nemean Games. In the myth, the lion terrorized the area and had an exceptionally tough hide that ordinary weapons could not pierce.
Hercules first tried to fight it with arrows and a club, but these weapons were ineffective. He eventually blocked one entrance to the lion’s cave, followed it into the confined space, and strangled it. He then used the lion’s own claws to cut through its hide and made the pelt his distinctive armor.
Nemea is sometimes confused with Lerna, the setting of the Hydra labor, or with Mount Olympus, the home of the gods. The lion’s location is significant because the labor connects Hercules with the landscape and religious traditions of the northeastern Peloponnese.