Oh, this could confuse a stupid person like me, and oh my – the incest!

Hesiod writes that the Nemean lion is the offspring of Orthus and an ambiguous “she”. This “she” is often understood as probably referring to either the Chimera, Echidna, or possibly Ceto.

The Nemean lion is also, depending on its parentage, brother to the Theban Sphinx and is of the same lineage as others within the Heracles myth, those being Cerberus and the Lernaean Hydra.

Apollodorus, however, depicts the lion as the offspring of Typhon. According to Hesiod, the lion was raised by Hera and sent to terrorize the hills of Nemea.

In another tradition, told by Aelian (citing Epimenides) and Hyginus, the lion was “sprung from” the moon-goddess Selene, who threw him from the Moon at Hera’s request to mount Apesas. Hera allowed the Nemean lion to hunt within her lands, knowing it would cause more problems for Heracles. In Bibliotheca, Photius wrote that the dragon Ladon, who guarded the golden apples, was the Nemean lion’s brother.