THE SITTING LIONS OF GREEKS ~ A NATIONAL INDIAN SYMBOL

The Sitting Lions were a symbol of the ancient Greek Kings.
In the Mycenae of Southern Greece, they had been a royal emblem since the Bronze Age, with the Lion Gate being the main entrance to the Mycenae citadel. It was erected during the 13th century BCE  (circa 1250 BCE ) in the northwest side of the acropolis and is named after the relief sculpture of two lionesses or lions in a heraldic pose that stands above the entrance.

Later, in ancient Macedonia, the Sitting Lion decorated the entrances of  houses. After the Battle of Chaeronea in 338 BCE, where Phillip the II, the father of Alexander the Great defeated the Thebans, a Sitting Lion was put up as a memorial to honour the fallen defenders. 

We can also find a similar Lion in the city of Amphipolis, which is also in Northern Greece. The Lion of Amphipolis is an imposing tomb statue, created in the 4th century BCE. It was set up in honour of Laomedon of Mytilene, an important general of Alexander the Great, the King of Macedonia.

In India, the lion as a royal symbol first appeared in the sculpture of the Ashoka Pillars. These were made by Greek craftsmen and are decorated with more Greek symbols, such as of anthemia and rhodaxes. The Sitting Lions at the capital of the Pillars came to be known as the Lions of Ashoka.

Today, the Sitting Lions are the national symbol of India and reminds the Indians their duty to be brave as lions; just like the 30,000 lion-hearted Greek soldiers who fought for 9 years after they overthrew the 200-year-old Persian empire,and liberated  Western India of that era, which suffered for so long under Persian oppression.