There are many scientific and literary explanations for the constellation Leo. There are scientific explanations such as stars, galaxies and discoveries. There are literary explanations such as myths and the zodiac. There are a few different myths for this constellation. One of these began when Hercules discovered his supernatural powers, was driven mad by his wife Hera, and killed his sons. To pay for his mistake he was assigned the twelve labors by Hera. The first of his twelve labors was to kill the ferocious lion. Hera sent him to kill the lion hoping that he would fail and his father, Zeus, would disown him. Leo fell in the forests of Nemaea. He ate the animals of the woods and the people of the village. Several brave men lost their lives because of Leo. No arrow or spear would pierce his tough skin. When Hercules went to kill the lion he entered the cave and strangled Leo with his bare hands. Hercules then pulled Lion's claw out of his paw and cut the lion's skin. He left the cave wearing the skin as a robe and the lion's head as a helmet. Hercules saved the people of his village. Zeus recognized his son's heroic act by placing the image of the lion in the sky. Another version of the myth is that Leo was the terrible lion in the table between the two lovers Pyramus and Thisbe. Their parents forbid them to marry. They spoke secretly through a crack in the wall between their houses. They planned to meet right outside the city, next to a certain white-berry mulberry tree. When Thisbe arrived, Pyramus was not there. Suddenly a lion frightened Thisbe. The lion was covered in the blood of its previous victim. Thisbe began to run when her veil slipped and the lion Thisbe ran away. When Pyramus arrived he saw the bloody tear... in the center of the paper... heb. 2014. .McCarter, Norma. "Legends of the Constellations". http://www.tcoe.org/scicon/instructionalguide/constellations.pdf. Naturalist and Astronomer Intern SCICON, nd Web. February 13, 2014. Miles, Kathy and Chuck Peters. "Lion." The lion. Np, nd Web. 11 February 2014. .Nimmo, Phillip, III, Loretta Nimmo, Sherry Petri, and Hugh Larson. "Constellation Leo." Telephone interview. February 18, 2014.Rey, H.A., and Ian Garrick-Bethell. "The Lion." Find the constellations. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2008. 9. Print.VanCleave, Janice. "The Lion." Constellations for every child. New York: John Wilet and Sons, 1997. 131-33. Print.Zimmerman, Kim Ann. “Leo Constellation: Facts about Leo.” Space.com. Np, nd Web. 11 February. 2014. .