Although the role of lions in ancient culture were later mostly confined to being slain with lances and spears, the lioness has been an important symbol to humans for tens of thousands of years and appear as a theme in cultures across Europe, Asia and Africa. The earliest historical records in Egypt present an established religious pantheon that included a lioness as one of the most powerful cultural figures, protecting the people as well as their rulers.

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://martinifisher.com/2018/09/28/reflecting-on-the-ancient-beauty-of-the-lioness/